


46 Problems (and a S.O.B. is one)

by aLoggedInReader



Series: 46 Series [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, M/M, Redemption, humanized archangels, season 6, season 7, some OCs as side characters, some cases from
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-13 11:47:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 44
Words: 126,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3380366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aLoggedInReader/pseuds/aLoggedInReader
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being human is easy, right? Humans have been doing it for ages, so it should be a walk in the park for the archangels! The problem is, some of them are more willing to give the experience a chance than others. established Sabriel, contains scenes from season 6 and 7, 3rd part of the 46 series</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading and giving invaluable support in general!

**Prologue**

 

Lucifer always knew that Nick wouldn't be able to hold him forever. His temporary vessel was strong -stronger than he first assumed, if he felt like giving the man credit- but there was only one person who could host Lucifer without falling apart. The devil always knew Sam would give in eventually -it was meant to be after all- but Gabriel's interfering had postponed things to the point where holding on to his deteriorating vessel was becoming highly uncomfortable.

However, none of that explained why Lucifer was lying on his back in what seemed to be a forest. He didn't even know how he had gotten there. It was damn near impossible, but Lucifer must have lost consciousness for a while as he was transported to this place, wherever it was. There were very few things in existence that could affect him like this because despite everything, Lucifer still was an archangel at his core.

Lucifer tried to ignore the way patches of his damaged skin burned in a way that was much more physical than he was used to. He was used to feeling like an over-blown balloon that might burst out of his temporary vessel if he didn't thread carefully. However, that was an uncomfortable sensation coming from the way his grace was restricted in all the wrong ways. What Lucifer felt that moment was purely physical. Technically something like that should've only been possible in heaven -or hell, or purgatory- when he was in his true form and then only on the off chance that one of his evenly matched brothers managed to injure him. Even lowly humans would remember something that drastic happening to them, so there was no way an archangel would have missed it. Not that Lucifer honestly considered the possibility that he had been in a fight with one of his brothers and had forgotten all about it. 

"Hi Mr. Angel," a young voice brought Lucifer out of his considerations. The girl the voice belonged to could hardly have aged more than a handful of years. Her dirty blond ringlets were bouncing along with her as she was unsuccessfully trying to hide her excitement. All in all, Lucifer already found her to be highly annoying.

"Go away," the archangel commanded in an icy tone as he finally tried to sit up. At least Lucifer was going for commanding and icy when he opened his mouth. It came out more like a pained groan though as he tried to get his resisting muscles to cooperate.

"I saw you fall from heaven," the girl chattered on unimpressed by his attempt to ban her, before she cocked her head and added in a worried tone, "Did it hurt?"

"What do you think?" Lucifer muttered under his breath as he tried and failed to get to his feet. His legs felt weak. Hell, his entire being felt weak. Nearly bursting out of his vessel from being too powerful was something Lucifer was used to, feeling like his vessel might collapse any moment from weakness was new and very disconcerting. It also didn't help that the little cockroach was still looking at him with big brown eyes! "Go away!"

"You're hurt," the girl stated matter-of-factly, crossing her arms in front of her chest as if she thought it'd give her words more weight, "So you need help and I'm the only one here."

Gracie had seen her mother do the exact same gesture a lot when she wanted to let her daughter know she was serious. If it worked for her mother, it should work for her too. Besides, Gracie wasn't going to let an angel leave just like that! He was the most interesting thing ever!

"Look you little..." Lucifer started before he had to cough. The former archangel felt like his entire body was shaking with the force of his coughs for a few unbearably long moments. Lucifer was nearly surprised that he hadn't coughed up blood. The hacking sure felt bad enough for something like that.

"I live just outside the woods. You can stay in my house until you're all better," Gracie decided with a definite nod, before she added quickly, "But mom can't know. She doesn't believe in angels."

The little girl was certain her mother would only see some stranger her daughter found in the forest and then she'd freak out and maybe call the police or something. Gracie knew better, though. She had seen the man fall all the way from heaven, not just from the trees, but from beyond the trees! The only logical conclusion was that he was an angel and if an angel landed in front of her feet there had to be a reason for it.

"Just my luck _you_ found me," Lucifer commented with a snort. Heaven forbid he was found by someone not believing in angels and maybe assuming he had fallen off a tree or something. Then again, it wasn't like that would've helped him any. Any so called helpful stranger would've been an annoyance. At least in this case it was an easily gullible child.

"Lots of luck," Gracie agreed nodding emphatically, "'Cause I'm not allowed past the yard, ya know? But mom's not home yet and she di'n't know grandma can't watch me. She didn't hear the message on the answerin' machine. I have my own key, so it doe'n't matter and I can be alone for a few hours without doing somethin' stupid."

Lucifer nearly wanted to laugh at the girl's words. Obviously, she couldn't be left alone without doing something spectacularly stupid like chatting up the devil for example. Hell, if Lucifer was in any condition to do anything much he wouldn’t have listened to her continued prattle... Granted, he might not have bothered lifting a finger to harm the kid -against popular opinion he didn't always kill and destroy just because- but he would have walked away without giving her a second thought in the very least. Instead Lucifer asked, "Do you always talk so much?"

"No, only sometimes," Gracie replied without missing a beat, "'Cause at school I'm supposed to listen a lot and mom works from home in the afternoons most the time and doesn't have time to listen to me."

Lucifer hardly listened to the continued inane chatter as he finally managed to get to his feet. He grimaced feeling himself start to sway unsteadily. It was doubtful that he would still be standing even after a few steps –how was he meant to fight like this?- but it would have to do until he could recuperate and assess his situation.

"Fascinating," Lucifer groaned out when Gracie stopped talking to look at him like she was waiting for some sort of response. As things were, playing along was the easiest option he had. Not to mention the little abomination -really, Lucifer knew some called his true vessel an abomination, but looking at humanity Sam was one of the least abominable of the whole lot- was standing at his right, helping support his weight, so she was useful for now.

"You're one grumpy angel," Gracie commented once she was sure the angel wouldn't fall down again. She couldn't pull him up when he was on the ground, he was too tall and heavy for that, but she knew how to support an adult who was unsteady on their feet. "I'm always grumpy when I'm hurt, too. You know, I once fell off a ladder. I had to get stitches on my arm, but dad said my guardian angel was watchin', 'cause nothin' worse happened."

"Angel's don't..." Lucifer wanted to tell the girl in no uncertain terms that angels had other things to do than to watch over stupid humans, but another coughing fit prevented him from making the scathing comment that was on the tip of his tongue.

"Okay, we're almost there, see?" Gracie was quick to assure the angel once he caught his breath again. They were nearing the end of the forest. They just had to get through the garden gate. Her wooden playhouse could be seen over the fence. Getting inside, Gracie only had minor issues leading the angel through the doorway. The playhouse was big enough for an adult for sure and there was a makeshift bed in there too. Maybe it would be a little short for an adult, but it should do. "That's my house. You don't have to worry, mom doesn't go in there. It's all mine. Dad built it jus' for me. Daddy said privacy is important."

For once Lucifer could agree with something the little abomination said, not that he'd let her know that. It suited the former archangel just right to have a place to rest a little that was outside of the actual house too. That way he could easily disappear the moment his strength returned enough and he would do just that!

The wooden playhouse was surprisingly spacious on the inside. Lucifer thought he could stand to spend a little time in there. He had been in far worse places before. There was something he really had to take care of though.

"You wouldn't happen to have any paint around?" Lucifer asked, looking around for a few moments. He was able to support himself with a hand against the wall, which he clearly preferred to using the tiny human as a crutch. The place needed some heavy wardings if Lucifer was going to stay there. Angels and demons alike might be looking for him. Somebody had to be responsible for the state the devil was in and he was sure they would be looking for him. They'd better not find him before he gathered his strength. After that he'd make sure to hunt them down and make them pay.

"I have finger paint," Gracie stated with a slight frown. She didn't know what the angel needed paint for, but finger paint wasn't appropriate for everything. It was that or crayons though. She didn’t have too many things stored out in her playhouse, she'd have to go to the house for everything else.

"Great," Lucifer groaned. The indignities just wouldn't end that day! The former archangel took the offered pots of blue, yellow and red color anyway. It was better than nothing and should do for what he had planned; if not, the angels or demons would laugh themselves to death anyway. At least, the abomination didn't say anything as he started to smear paint all over the walls.

"That looks funny," Gracie commented, cocking her head curiously after watching the angel paint in silence for a few minutes, "What are ya painting?"

"Angel things," Lucifer retorted shortly. He could've told her what the symbols were for in detail, but why waste the time and breath? Explaining anything to a human seemed useless. They sure thought they were so highly developed and smart, but they were really just mindless maggots from Lucifer's point of view.

"My dad's an angel now too, ya know?" Gracie chattered on, though her tone took on a sad note.

The former archangel’s stroke faltered when he noticed the change, but continued on anyway without even sparing the girl a glance.

"Humans can never be angels, that's not how it works," Lucifer huffed. Really, it was one of the stupider ideas humans had come up with. The belief that humans could ever be angels wasn't grounded on any facts and it needed to be nipped in the bud! Humans and angels were not at all alike and they never would be!

"But... but... what's my daddy now then?" Gracie asked her voice shaking as she searched for words. Her grandma used to tell her that her dad was an angel now and that he was watching over her, but if an angel said...

"Dead," Lucifer deadpanned, finishing the sigils he was painting before he turned back to look at the suddenly silent kid. The unexpected pang of guilt Lucifer felt at seeing the girl's tears hit the former archangel right in the heart. For the first time in a very long time, he wished he could take his words back.


	2. Chapter 2

**1**

 

"It's only ice cream, Michael. Pick a flavor already!" Hope groaned, rolling her eyes at the indecisive man next to her. Hope spent a lot of time over the past five days protecting Michael -especially his often strange behavior and the fact he did not want to speak about his life- from her aunt and uncle's prying ways, but in all honesty she was dying to learn more about him too. It was more a matter of principle to insist he didn't have share if he didn't want to, only budging on the question if Michael might be searched for by the police -as a missing person or otherwise- because that was admittedly something they definitely had the right to know.

Hope thought she was taking the sneaky approach, just taking Michael with her as often as possible and observing the way he acted in different situations. There were a lot of things you could learn about a person just watching their everyday life. He complied with whatever they told him there was to do. He was awkward around people, like he didn't know what was expected of him in normal social situations. He had managed to cut himself badly with a razor the second day pretty badly, but he calmed down when she showed him it was easy to clean up. What Hope noticed most of all was that Michael followed all rules -mostly coming from Hope's uncle- nearly religiously. All in all, Hope just didn't know what to make of her handsome stranger.

"Vanilla," Michael replied quickly, throwing a side-glance at Hope to see if he made the right choice. The former archangel supposed there was no real right or wrong answer in this case, but one thing he learned in the past few days was that humans were much more complicated than he ever anticipated. There were so many little things Michael never paid attention to when he was still in heaven. Actually, Michael hardly spent attention to humanity as a whole in ages.

"Should've known," Hope grinned, handing the money for their two ice cream cones over to the vendor and accepting her frozen cookie dough flavored treat in return. If the young woman had to guess what kind of flavor Michael would go for, she'd have bet on something basic you couldn't go wrong with. Besides, Michael seemed like a vanilla kind of guy. Not that she'd tell him that and it didn't look like he understood the innuendo. Hope chuckled to herself as she went toward an empty bench, her companion following her in that lost puppy-like way of his.

"Why did you say that?" Michael asked, furrowing his brow as he sat next to the woman, "Hope, what does that mean?"

Hope shook her head and didn't answer. It was never a good idea to explain the joke, especially if the explanation likely would be embarrassing. Besides, they both had melting ice cream cones that needed their attention.

"I don't like this," Michael broke the silence between them a little while later. Just sitting there in silence while eating ice cream had given the former archangel time to assess the situation, which he was beginning to learn was a bad thing sometimes, especially when it involved Hope.

"Just your luck, huh? 20 flavors and you pick the one you don't like," Hope replied in a casual tone. She considered offering her own cone to Michael, so he could try if he liked another flavor better, but that seemed like an awkward idea. They didn't know each other well enough to share saliva, even if it was only over ice cream.

"I don't mean the ice cream," Michael clarified with a deep sigh. For all it was worth, the ice cream was enjoyable, so the former archangel couldn't honestly say he regretted stopping for the sweet treat. Not that Hope had left him much of a choice in the matter.

"We were meant to bring Mrs. Murphy the books and return," Michael added when Hope gave him a quizzical look. One of the things the former archangel found hard to understand was that the young woman clearly loved her aunt and uncle, but had no qualms going against their wishes. Michael had no bond to the older couple other than gratefulness for giving him food and shelter, but he couldn't imagine disregarding any of the rules they had given him on his own accord.

"So? We brought the books to Mrs. Murphy and we're going to return," Hope shrugged lightly, giving Michael a challenging look before she added, "Later."

It wasn't like they had been given a strict time frame and even if they had, Hope wasn't known to be punctual to the second. She had a feeling that Michael wouldn't understand that though. Hell, in the days since he was there, Michael was the one who ended any conversation they might be having at 10 p.m. sharp to retire in the guest room as her uncle told him to do. Without even a goodnight at that! Hope tried to distract Michael by telling him an outrageous story about a party she went to once the other night, but was left to talk to herself as soon as the clock struck ten.

"Your uncle wouldn't..." Michael started to argue predictably.

"Do you always do what you're told?" Hope interrupted him with a groan. The young woman didn't need to hear her companion's answer to know what it would be. Not that it came as any surprise. "C'mon Michael, live a little!"

Despite her words, Hope wiped her hands off on her jeans and stood up, offering her hand to Michael. She couldn't ask for too much disobedience from the lost man at once. They had their little 'not pre-approved' activity for the day.

"You are a... peculiar woman," Michael shook his head as he took her hand.

"Careful, you might learn to appreciate it," Hope chuckled, leaning against Michael's side playfully for a moment.

Michael didn't say it, but he had no doubts her assumption was correct.

 

* * *

 

 

"I got food," Gracie announced as she pushed the door to her playhouse open with her shoulders. The little girl's arms were full of things she had collected for her angel around the house. Her mother had one of her awfully busy days, so it was the perfect opportunity to get as many useful things as she could to the angel. "And more blankets and new clothes."

Lucifer's eyes snapped open as soon as the door was opened. The devil spent most of his time dozing on and off, but he hadn't managed a deep sleep. Not that he wanted to. He needed to stay as alert as possible at all times, especially now that he had somehow lost his powers. Lucifer didn't know how it happened exactly -though it seemed like a safe guess that the Winchesters and their posse had something to do with it- and it shouldn't even have been possible, but there was no use denying it happened.

"Mommy keeps daddy's stuff in the basement, y'know?" Gracie explained as the angel slowly sat up on the bed. She wasn't even sure he was listening to her, but with adults you never knew. Gracie's mother often caught her doing or saying things she shouldn't, even when it looked like she was completely emerged in something else. The same went for Gracie's teachers. It stood to reason that an angel would notice at least as much. "It's all in big boxes."

It wasn't hard to get clothes and other things from the boxes without her mother noticing. Gracie knew her mom wasn't looking into them. Her mother once admitted that she couldn't bear to give her father's things away, but she couldn't stand to see them all the time either.

"Daddy woul'n't mind sharin' with ya," Gracie stated with conviction. It couldn't be bad to give some of her father's things to the angel, because she knew her dad would've allowed her to, if she could've asked him.

"Are you feelin' alright?" Gracie asked a moment later when the angel didn't say anything, "You're all quiet. Mommy always says she can tell when I'm not feelin' good, 'cause I'm all quiet then."

"That's awfully hard to believe," Lucifer deadpanned.

"I like you better when you're grumpy than when you're all quiet," Gracie shrugged, smiling at the angel before her expression became thoughtful, "Why're you always grumpy anyway?"

"I can't possibly expect you to understand," Lucifer snorted. How could a little girl understand what it was like to be shunned and wronged the way Lucifer was? How could she ever understand everything he lost? How could any human for that matter? Lucifer was certain that humans didn't have the capacity to understand, even if they tried. Most of them wouldn't bother trying to understand the devil in the first place. Most humans would run.

"Try me," Gracie replied with a daring look, nodding to herself as she sat on the edge of the bed the angel was half sitting, half lying in, "I understand much more than people think!"

"Forget it," Lucifer huffed. How could he possibly explain anything about his life to a child? What good would it do? Why would he even want to? She was an annoying, overly chatty, human abomination that was convenient to have around for the moment, nothing more.

Lucifer was startled out of his thoughts when the girl wrapped her arms around his upper body all of a sudden. He was about to tell her to quit the crap when the realization hit him that she was taking extra care to avoid applying pressure that might hurt him. Lucifer wasn't one to give people credit for anything, but no matter how hard he tried the former archangel couldn't deny that it felt good to be hugged by someone who was so considerate of his wellbeing.

"Is it nice in heaven? Ya think my daddy likes it there?" Gracie asked nervously, once she let go of the angel to sit on the edge of the bed again. She was a little scared of the answer she might get, since the angel had already crushed her hopes that her dad was an angel himself.

A nasty reply was on the tip of Lucifer's tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. He vividly remembered the stinging bad feeling it gave him to see her cry the last time. Lucifer didn't need a repeat performance of that. Besides, the truthful answer was incidentally just what she wanted to hear. He'd have to lie to the girl just to be mean and while it may have been the drugs talking, looking at recent events, she simply didn't deserve that. "Yes."

 

* * *

 

 

"I'm sorry, this took longer than it should've and the ghoul smashed my phone. I brought pi..." Sam started to explain before he even fully opened the door to the motel room he shared with Gabriel. Bobby called Dean about a hunt in Miami while they were in the close vicinity already and they had taken it. Gabriel insisted he could come along and help, but Sam had vetoed that. The younger Winchester simply didn't want his boyfriend to get in over his head while Gabriel still didn't fully know where his limits were with his newly fully human body. Hell, Gabriel managed to eat M&Ms until he felt sick just two days ago, he was clearly still far from knowing the new limitations he had to work with.

"What is all this?" Sam asked with a frown, setting the pizza carton he was holding down at the rickety table all motel rooms seemed to come with. Gabriel was sitting cross legged in the middle of their double bed, Sam's laptop by his side, the telephone book by his other side -with obviously missing pages- and a number of origami figures scattered all over the bed. Sam and Dean had been gone a couple of hours, but it never crossed the younger Winchester's mind that the former archangel might keep himself occupied like this. It was actually pretty amusing.

"Don't you laugh at my mighty mouse army!" Gabriel did his best to glare at his boyfriend, but in all honesty he always loved it when Sam laughed, so he couldn't even properly pretend to be mad. The former archangel had known that a hunt could always take longer than anticipated, but he never knew how hard it could be to stay behind when he couldn't just reach out with his powers and know that everything was okay.

"Mighty mouse army?" Sam asked, the corners of his mouth still twitching traitorously.

"I was going for tigers first, but the instructions were -to say it with little bro's words- insufficient," Gabriel shrugged, putting the half-folded mouse in his hands aside as he hopped off the bed to wrap his arms around Sam and greet him properly with a kiss.

"Are you okay?" the younger Winchester asked when they parted for air. Sam ran his fingers through Gabriel's hair -a gesture the archangel always enjoyed- and made sure to establish eye contact before he added, "I won't pretend I understand what you're going through, but I'm sure it has to be complicated."

"You say complicated, I say challenging," Gabriel replied in an animated tone, before he leaned in to place another quick peck on Sam's lips. Dean complained that they were even worse with the PDA since Gabriel's humanization and the former archangel wouldn't dream of doing anything to prove the older Winchester wrong. Not in this matter, anyway. Then again, he was hungry and there was a -probably- perfectly good pizza on the table. Sam wouldn't get them one of his broccoli pizzas, would he? That would be cruel! Gabriel decided he had to check to make sure, even if that meant parting from his friendly giant of a partner for a bit.

"Okay," Sam gave a small smile, as he watched the shorter man inspect the content of the pizza carton. The younger Winchester was pretty sure Gabriel would be all for pineapple chunks on pizza, adding some sweetness. It was obvious to Sam that his boyfriend wasn't ready to talk about their situation at that moment, but there was one more thing that had to be said on the matter. "Look, if you really see things that way, that's awesome. Just know that..."

"I know," Gabriel replied seriously. He knew he could always talk to Sam, or ask for help in things that weren't quite as easy as he always thought they were, but Gabriel was dealing just fine. So maybe he couldn't fold complicated paper tigers because step 12 was incomprehensible, but it wasn't like that was a skill he had to possess. Besides, with different instructions or more patience for trial and error he was sure he could learn. The fact Gabriel generally didn't like making things -especially ordinary everyday tasks- hard for himself didn't mean he shied away from a challenge. "Stop worrying so much."

The former archangel took a bite out of his pizza slice, chewing thoroughly. It was obvious that Sam wasn't fully convinced. Gabriel couldn't have his boyfriend worrying about him all the time, especially when it was over nothing!

"I knew what I was getting into," Gabriel stated after a moment of consideration. The spell was supposed to de-power all archangels. Gabriel knew -if he survived casting of the spell- he'd lose his powers. Maybe being fully human instead of a powerless angel came as a surprise, but it didn't really make a difference.

"And I made preparations," Gabriel added with a self-satisfied grin, "Soon as we swing by Celebration I'll have everything I need."

The former archangel wasn't stupid. He made sure he had supplies -documents, money and other things humans generally needed- waiting for him. Chuck wouldn't notice the box in the basement and the prophet's roommates obviously hadn't found it either.

Gabriel also wasn't inconsiderate. He made preparations for his brothers as well. Gabriel had legal papers and bank accounts ready and waiting for Michael, Lucifer and Raphael. They just had to find them first. Bobby was looking for signs of them, but they had to be discrete. There were too many beings and hunters who'd just love to get a piece of the former archangels, if they heard of their predicament.

"I guess we'll leave tomorrow morning, so you won't have to make do with my stuff much longer," Sam answered with a smile as he secured one of the pizza slices for himself. The hunter wasn't so much hungry as he was tired, but he knew he'd wake up early from hunger if he went to bed on an empty stomach.

"Thinking about it, I might want to keep some of your clothes. They are very spacious," Gabriel grinned, looking down at the old Stanford shirt he had been wearing to bed the past few days, "And I love that look you get when I wear them."

"Oh yeah?" Sam chuckled, moving closer to the shorter man.

"Mhm," Gabriel hummed, closing the gap between them to kiss Sam again.

The former archangel couldn't find it in him to complain about his mighty mouse army going flying everywhere -and some of them getting squished- as Sam pushed Gabriel down onto the bed. If the shorter man thought he liked the look in Sam's eyes before when he wore the taller man's clothes, he downright loved the look the younger Winchester got when he took them off him. Not that Gabriel's look was any less appreciating -not to say adoring- once Sam started losing pieces of clothing.

One of the things Gabriel really appreciated about being human was that he felt things differently. This body was his own now, he was one with it, completely. Sure, paper cuts were a bitch that way, but the feeling of Sam's lips pressed against his naked chest made up for things like that completely.

A moment later Gabriel hooked his leg over the younger Winchester's hip and used his partner's surprise at the move to flip them over. The former archangel was too worked up to draw things out, immediately starting to roll his hips against Sam's. It didn't look like the younger Winchester had any complaints, as he was right there with the former archangel, panting and moaning (and proving Dean right in demanding a room that wasn't directly next to theirs).

"Sorry about your army," Sam chuckled once he caught his breath, brushing some stray hair out of Gabriel's face as the archangel tried to gather the energy to roll off his partner.

"They were good mice, taking one for their commander," the former archangel replied seriously, finally flopping on his back next to Sam. Physical exertion having a very noticeable effect on him was something Gabriel really had to get used to still, but he was far from complaining when the physical exertion was this satisfying.

Gabriel watched Sam collect boxer shorts and sweat pants for both of them -couldn't be caught pants-less in case they had to make a quick escape; shirtless was half as bad, but pant-less a no go- as a thought suddenly hit him. "Hey, while we're in Miami already, you don't think we could swing by the beach before we leave?"

Sam could already hear Dean complaining about sand in the Impala, but on the other hand there was the prospect of Gabriel half-naked and wet. In the end, it wasn't a hard decision to make.


	3. Chapter 3

**2**

 

"Those damn Star Wars prequels got at least one thing right," Dean stated, disdain written all over his face, "Sand sucks!"

Having his younger brother and said brother's boyfriend in the car was starting to really get on Dean's nerves. The older Winchester could put his veto in all he wanted, but it still was two against one. Dean gladly ignored the fact that going to the beach was the first actual thing Sam and Gabriel had insisted on since the archangel's humanization in favor of being annoyed by having to go to a place this sandy.

It didn't help Dean's mood that he -a little childishly- decided to wear one of his usual plaid and jeans outfits to not embarrass himself like Sam and Gabriel were in their -matching- shorts. On the plus side, Dean wasn't showing off his pasty white legs like his brother and the former archangel, but the older Winchester definitely felt that overheating was a very real threat.

"Dean, it's the first time in years we've been anywhere close to a beach. You'll live," Sam retorted, shaking his head like he was chastising a little kid. If Dean acted like a stubborn child, that was how Sam was going to talk to him. His older brother could say what he wanted, but the younger Winchester noticed how Dean ogling the bikini clad women around. Sam was sure it was only by a matter of principle that Dean was acting like he hated being at the beach.

"Easy for you to say, it's not your baby that's going to be covered in sand after this," Dean huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest demonstratively. Damn all the bikini clad beauties around that made it close to impossible for him to treat the situation with all the dislike it deserved. So maybe the beach babes were easy on the eye, but that changed nothing about the fact that sand was a thing invented in the deepest pits of hell.

"Really Dean, really? 'Cause it looks to me like my baby is already covered in sand," Sam grinned, nodding toward Gabriel. The younger Winchester hadn't expected the former archangel to get this excited over going to the beach. Sam could only come up with one word to properly describe the way Gabriel was jumping into the waves and bouncily running along the shore. The former archangel was frolicking.

"Could you be any more disgusting?" Dean groaned. The older Winchester wasn't against having fun, hell he wasn't even against Gabriel having fun -even though the guy put them all through a lot just a couple days ago- but he feared he was seeing the beginnings of a trend here. A trend that had to be stopped before it could get out of hand! "You know, this whole 'Gabriel gets what Gabriel wants' thing is getting old real fast."

"Look, he's trying to adjust, I just..." Sam stopped mid-sentence when Gabriel raced toward him. There was no use spoiling the former archangel's fun by bringing up the younger Winchester's worries again. Gabriel already knew Sam worried about him and he also knew they could talk about everything; Sam had made sure of that. That moment Gabriel obviously didn't want to know anything about worries, he just wanted to have fun and enjoy the moment. Sam could definitely see the benefits of just going along with it.

"C'mon, Sambo, the water's perfect," Gabriel grinned, grabbing Sam's hand and started to pull the younger Winchester toward the water. A few moments later, the former archangel reconsidered his plan and his grin widened a little more. Sam didn't even get the time to wonder what the gleeful grin was about before Gabriel jumped on his back proclaiming, "And the sand is too hot to stand on!"

Dean watched as his younger brother carried the former archangel toward the water piggyback just to dump Gabriel unceremoniously into the waves as soon as the self-proclaimed ‘mature one’ was knee deep in the ocean. Gabriel came back up sputtering and immediately tackled Sam into the water. They were both laughing and having a good time, so Dean couldn't find it in him to disapprove too much. However, the older Winchester couldn't share his brother's worries about the fallen archangel. Gabriel was obviously having the time of his life.

"Trying to adjust my ass," Dean snorted. At least he could check out the newest bikini fashion -and the women wearing them- without having to pretend to hate everything about being at the beach now that they were gone. Still, sand just plain sucked. It got everywhere and refused to leave afterward. There was only one place in the world where the sand didn't bother Dean that much or rather, one place where sand was only a minor annoyance in comparison to all the great things there were to do.

A grin spread over the older Winchester's face. He had nearly forgotten about one of their sacred family traditions, but he remembered in just enough time to make it happen...

 

* * *

 

 

"Vegas week?" Adam asked with a frown. Honestly, the youngest Winchester expected bad news of epic proportions when he saw that Dean was calling him. . This was his eldest brother calling after all, one of the crisis magnets. How many times had they stopped the end of the world now? It came as a surprise that his oldest brother apparently only wanted to talk about some family tradition/holiday he wanted to revive again. "You realize I'm too young to do anything fun in Vegas, right?"

It would be just like Dean to ignore that Adam couldn't legally gamble, drink or even get into most bars yet. A week of checking out the family friendly side of Vegas while his two older brothers did whatever the hell they wanted didn't sound like fun to Adam. Granted, Sam would most likely take pity on him and accompany Adam to some kid friendly shows. Man, being an older teenager in the US really sucked. Things weren't made better by the fact that Adam should've been twenty already, but there was that pesky detail about him not being alive for one of those years. Not that being twenty would've changed that much in regards to legality.

"That's what fake IDs are for," Dean retorted without missing a beat, "We'll be there in a couple hours. You better be ready, twerp."

Everything in Adam bristled at the tone Dean used with him. His oldest brother sure had a way of talking to him like his opinion didn't matter and Adam didn't have a choice other than to go along with what Dean wanted. The youngest Winchester realized that his oldest brother was trying to be nice in his own way, but the way Dean got the message across was what made Adam want to shoot him down just on a matter of principle.

"Yeah, I don't think... Dean?" Adam frowned as he realized that his oldest brother hung up without waiting for his answer, "Typical."

Adam was determined not to let Dean win as easily as that. Hell, if his oldest brother got the idea in his head that simply not giving Adam the chance to object was the way to get him to do what Dean wanted, he might do it again in the future.

The youngest Winchester's mind was already made up as he put his phone back into his pocket and turned around to face Chuck and Tarot. Adam wouldn't pretend he could read Chuck the same way he could read Tarot most of the time, but the youngest Winchester had a feeling that the prophet knew what this whole Vegas week thing was about. It probably was something his brothers really had done before then. Still, Adam didn't want to go along with it and he'd tell his roommates...

"You should... go," Tarot spoke up before Adam could finish his thought.

"What?" Adam asked ineloquently. His best friend was getting better and better with voicing his opinion and generally being assertive -for his standards- but Tarot telling Adam what to do this openly was still new. The youngest Winchester wouldn't disregard what his angelic buddy had to say, even if Tarot's opinion on the whole Vegas matter was obviously the exact opposite of his own.

"It sounds like... a bonding experience," Tarot elaborated in a quiet, but serious tone, "An important one."

The sandy-haired seraph knew Adam was reluctant to let his brothers play a bigger part in his life, but at the same time Tarot saw how much his friend cared about Sam and Dean. It would be good for all of them to have some time between brothers and maybe it could be good for Tarot and Chuck to have to deal on their own for a while too. Tarot couldn't say that the thought didn't make him nervous, but he liked the prophet and it wasn't for long.

"Right," Adam huffed out a chuckle, "You really should stop watching the Disney Channel all the time."

At first the youngest Winchester thought it was amusing how fascinated Tarot was by most Disney cartoons -for some reason the live action series didn't appeal to the seraph- but the angel probably shouldn't get all his life lessons about family values from the Disney Corporation. Granted, there were worse sources, but it was questionable if there were any less realistic ones.

"I think he's right, Adam," Chuck agreed with his angelic roommate had said, "We can make it for a week without you."

"I won't... let Chuck b-burn down the house," Tarot promised with a small smile and chuckle before he put a hand on Adam's shoulder and added, "I will miss you, but I will be... okay."

"Fine," Adam sighed, looking his best friend in the eyes for a long moment before he shrugged, "I guess there aren't many Winchester family activities I'd want to have a part in. Might as well go for this one."

Adam still wasn't convinced that this was a good idea as he went upstairs to pack a few of his things. The youngest Winchester supposed that Tarot was right though. His older brothers wanted him to go on a family vacation with them, they wanted to include him in their lives. Adam should at least give it a chance. He could still flip Dean off at the mention of Vegas week the following year, if this one turned out to be a disaster.

"One of these days you'll have to teach me how to talk to him like that," Chuck stated once Adam was gone while shaking his head in exaggerated exasperation. The prophet and the youngest Winchester were getting along much better these days, but Chuck still didn't know how to influence Adam in the slightest without risking an argument. Tarot on the other hand...

"I just... just tell Adam how I... feel about things," Tarot replied in a confused tone. The seraph wasn't sure what the prophet was asking of him. Tarot spoke his mind when he felt the need to share his thoughts like Adam taught him to. Apparently, his human friend appreciated it and was willing to consider the seraph's opinion. There was nothing more to it. Somehow, the most important thing in Tarot's life was also one of the simplest for him.

 

* * *

 

 

Gracie sat cross-legged on the floor of her playhouse. The angel had been quiet all afternoon, trying to make her believe he was sleeping. Gracie knew he was just acting -he snored when he really was asleep and there was no snoring whatsoever- but sometimes adults liked to make believe and they didn't like it when they were called out on it. Then again, the girl really could use some help and the angel would surely have the answers she needed.

"D'you know what 17 minus 9 is?" Gracie asked, half expecting the angel to keep pretending he was asleep.

Lucifer considered keeping his eyes closed and acting like he hadn't heard the question, but he had to admit that pretending to be asleep was even more droll and tedious than having a conversation with the girl. The devil took a deep breath and groaned as he answered, "Eight."

Lucifer still wasn't ready to admit that the most likely explanation for his missing powers and deteriorating health was that he somehow wasn't an archangel -or the devil- anymore, but his poor physical condition couldn't be ignored. It was getting worse too. Having the little abomination around at least served as a distraction from those thoughts, even if her inane chatter grated on his nerves. Plus, the medication she was able to smuggle out of the house did ease away some of his pain.

"'nd 23 minus 8?" Gracie asked a few moments later.

"Fifteen," Lucifer replied automatically, before he frowned, "What're you doing there anyway?"

"Homework," Gracie explained. The angel was obviously ready to talk to her now, so the girl decided to take a break and chat. Breaks were important anyway. Her father always used to say that hard work was important and necessary, but it was really the breaks that made life worth living. "'Cause I got in trouble for not having it today, so I really need to have it all tomorrow or there'll be real trouble and then mommy will be stressed out and I will be punished..."

Lucifer's head snapped toward the girl before he made the conscious decision to do so. The mention of punishment brought up all kinds of negative emotions and memories in him and to think that the little abomination was going through any of... Lucifer gritted his teeth and pushed those thoughts away. Even if the kid was talking about truly bad and painful punishments -which was unlikely to begin with- what did it matter to him?

"Y'know, like being grounded," Gracie explained when she noticed that her words upset the angel. The girl didn't know what an angel would consider punishment, but she thought it had to be worse than just being grounded. After all, angels punished sinners by sending them to hell or something like that. Being grounded wasn't fun, but it wasn't that bad. Then again, with the way things were right now being grounded would be really bad. "And then I'd have to stay inside all day and can't come to see ya!"

"Being grounded," Lucifer repeated after the girl, distaste written all over his face. What had been done to him was much worse than being grounded, but simplifying things a lot, you could nearly call it almost the same thing. Of course, when the abomination said 'being grounded' she meant having to stay in her room and still being allowed contact with her family...

"Do angels get grounded a lot?" Gracie's question interrupted Lucifer's train of thought. The girl thought the angel looked troubled and the most likely explanation she could come up with was that he knew what being grounded was like and that he didn't like it.

"Forget it," Lucifer huffed, narrowing his eyes. In all honesty, the devil wasn't mad at or annoyed by the girl so much as Lucifer couldn't understand why he couldn't keep a tighter lid on his emotions. Somehow bits and pieces of his thoughts kept showing on his face, giving the girl clues he didn't want her to have. The little abomination was perceptive, he had to give her that.

"You always say that when you don't wanna talk 'bout somethin'," Gracie observed, "Why don't you wanna talk to me?"

"You're an abomination and a young one to boot, you couldn't possibly understand. What's the point in explaining anything to you?" Lucifer snorted, grimacing as the pain in his face flared up again. Strangely enough, the devil sometimes considered simply telling the girl how his own father and brothers cast him out of his home, how he was wronged again and again and still people insisted on making him the only 'bad' one in the story. Of course, every time Lucifer even considered opening up to the girl he immediately blamed his weakened condition for his temporary insanity.

"I can't understand, if you never explain it to me!" Gracie argued with a pout. The girl crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave the angel a challenging look before she added, "'Nd I'd totally understand, if ya just tried to explain!"

"You're a special little abomination, I'll give you that," Lucifer huffed out a chuckle. The devil half expected even the slightest bit of laughing to hurt, but strangely enough it didn't. Of all the things that caused him pain since he woke up in the forest, laughing wasn't one of them. This all had to be a big cosmic joke.

"What does that mean?" Gracie asked with a frown. The angel used that word around her a lot, but she wasn't sure she knew what it meant. Gracie considered asking her mother, but chances were her mom would want to know where she heard the word and then she'd have to lie. The little girl wasn't particularly good at lying and she knew it.

"It means I want to know your name now," Lucifer replied without answering the question. The devil had been perfectly happy simply thinking of the kid as one of the abominations that made up humanity, but as he just admitted, she was special. Special cases were worth knowing their names. When things were back in order and he finally took over, he’d have to have a name for her should he keep her as a pet… or maybe some kind of apprentice.

"Grace," Gracie answered with a bright smile. She wasn't sure why the angel groaned deeply and glared toward the ceiling the moment she said her name. It probably was just one of the strange things her angel did. Some day she'd get him to explain it all to her, Gracie was sure.


	4. Chapter 4

**3**

 

"Hey, it's okay, you have a fun week with your brothers, I have a fun week with mine," Gabriel said with a smile as he rubbed the back of Sam's hand with his thumb. His moose of a boyfriend didn't look convinced, so the former archangel knew their discussion was over. Gabriel was determined to get his way in this though and for once Dean seemed to agree with his plan.

"Gabe, you're telling me that you of all people don't want to go to Vegas and you expect me to just buy that you're fine?" Sam replied with a sigh. It came as a surprise to everyone when Gabriel announced he wanted to stay in Celebration with Chuck and Tarot while the three Winchester brothers went on their Vegas vacation, though somehow Sam suspected it was a positive surprise in Dean's eyes. He couldn't expect backup from his older brother in this one.

"I expect you to understand why two days spent entirely in the car doesn't sound so great to me right now," Gabriel explained, raising an eyebrow at his boyfriend. The bright red sunburn -there were even little blisters forming on the former archangel's nose- wasn't the only or even the most important reason why Gabriel would rather stay behind, but it played a part too.

It was all too obvious that Sam had something to say concerning the condition most of Gabriel's skin was in, but the younger Winchester held back. His eyes got the message across clearly anyway. Sam told Gabriel to use sunscreen, but the shorter man had been too excited to wait for even a minute before jumping into the ocean. The sunburn was the logical consequence of his impatience. Sam had told him so, but he wouldn't point it out now.

"You really want to say it, don't you?" Gabriel grinned.

"I'm trying very hard not to," Sam replied with a small smile, before he leaned in for a quick kiss. Gabriel knew what he wanted to say anyway, but the younger Winchester was still itching to say 'I told you so'.

"I'll give the sunscreen a try next time, promise," Gabriel vowed seriously, raising his hand like a boy scout to give his vow more weight, for good measure. The former archangel had a feeling that sunburns were something he didn't want to experience more often. Besides, he could see the upside in letting Sam rub the lotion all over him, preferably when Dean wasn't anywhere close to loudly complain about his eyes burning from all the PDA.

"Gabe, seriously..." Sam sighed deeply, trying to get back to the more important topic here. The younger Winchester wasn't convinced that leaving Gabriel behind was the right thing to do. Then again, a small voice in the back of Sam's mind insisted he had nearly gone insane worrying about Gabriel lately and had nearly driven Gabriel insane with his fretting. A little time apart might do them good. Apparently, the former archangel was convinced it would.

"Muffin seriously, I just want to sit this sunburn out and bond with my brother while you bond with yours," Gabriel insisted once more, before he added in a soft tone, "And if I miss you too much, I'll just hop on a plane."

If the need arose, the former archangel had all the legal documents and the money he needed to purchase a plane ticket now that they finally got to Celebration to pick up the suitcase Gabriel prepared for his time without his archangel powers. He still intended to keep at least some of the clothes Sam had lent him for the past days. That Gabriel wanted a little time apart did not mean he wanted nothing of Sam's to sleep in, or to cuddle when he missed his gigantor too much.

"Yeah, okay, I guess­," the younger Winchester sighed deeply once more. Dean was getting antsy to leave and Adam was clearly wondering what the holdup was about too. Gabriel was still an adult, he could make his own decisions. Sam couldn't forget that.

"You c-can sleep... in my b-bed," Tarot offered in a sincere tone, looking nervously between Sam and Gabriel. Maybe the tall human would be reassured if he knew Gabriel would be comfortable. Tarot knew it would make him feel better to know Adam had a good place to sleep. Not that the seraph doubted the brothers would find a nice place to stay. "I d-don't use it and A-adam won't be h-here."

Tarot suspected he said something wrong when Dean laughed and Adam punched his oldest brother's shoulder for it. The angel however didn't get a chance to figure out what the commotion was about before his own brother spoke up.

"See? We're all set," Gabriel stated cheerfully, planting a quick peck on his boyfriend's lips, "Stop worrying already, Sambo. We'll be fine."

The former archangel all but pushed the younger Winchester out of the door. Saying good bye, if only for a week, wasn't easy for Gabriel either, but he felt it was necessary. If Sam stayed any longer the former archangel wasn't sure he could let him leave.

"Besides, there's always phone sex," Gabriel called after Sam just as the younger Winchester reached the Impala and his brothers. Dean's thoroughly scandalized expression should be enough to tide the former trickster over for the week.

 

* * *

 

 

From the moment they left Chuck's driveway, Sam could see that Dean was dying to say something. The younger Winchester had little hope that his older brother would manage to just let it be, pop in one of his tapes and drive in silence.

"So, Adam, you and Tarot...?" Dean left his question hanging. The implication was clear enough anyway. If his youngest brother thought he'd let the opportunity to bring up the angel topic after the latest revelations, he was sorely mistaken!

"Yeah, no," Adam replied curtly.

"Look, dude, it's okay if you're gay for angel... I mean, it's not like you'd be the first..." Dean kept digging deeper. Surprisingly enough, his words made Sam squirm more than Adam. Maybe it wasn't very nice to bring Sam into all this, but then again his younger brother was the one who set the precedent so he really shouldn't be surprised. It still counted, even if Gabriel wasn't an angel anymore.

"Congrats, Dean, I thought it'd take you longer to admit your feelings for Cas," Adam replied with a fake, nice smile. If Dean thought he was the only one who knew how to bring up potentially embarrassing topics, he was wrong. Not that Adam had a reason to be embarrassed, especially not when it concerned his and Terry's platonic relationship.

"Who's talking about Cas? I'm not..." Dean stated in a defensive tone.

Sam sighed deeply. He really wished he had stayed back with Gabriel that moment. Hell, Sam wished Gabriel had been there. Then Sam could've sat on the backseat with his boyfriend and they could have made out while Dean and Adam were arguing or maybe made his brothers uncomfortable with relationship fluff to at least change the topic. Something like that would've nicely rounded the teenage behavior that was going on, even though only one of them was a teenager and barely at that.

"We've been on this trip for like 30 minutes of 35 hours, guys," Sam pointed out exasperatedly.

"He started it!" Adam exclaimed before he could stop himself. Honestly, the youngest Winchester liked to think he was much more mature than he was letting on that moment, but Dean always had a sure fire way to get Adam to unleash the teenage angst inside of him.

"I just wanted to show my support!" Dean claimed, trying to look innocent which was ruined by the smirk that spread across his face. The more Adam protested the surer Dean was that he had struck a nerve.

"Yeah, right," Adam huffed out a humorless chuckle. The youngest brother wasn't exactly sure what it'd look like when a Winchester male tried to offer genuine support, but he didn't believe for a second this was it. Dean was just trying to stick his nose into his life. That was all it was.

"Hey, he basically said you were sleeping in his bed," Dean pointed out in a victorious tone. Adam could deny it all he wanted, his angelic bunk buddy gave them away earlier. Strangely enough, a short look into the rearview mirror revealed that his youngest brother had calmed down. Dean would've expected Adam to fly off the rails at being presented with the proof of his little affair or whatever it was. Instead his youngest brother looked nearly amused.

"He also said that he doesn't, so I'm sleeping in there alone sometimes," Adam shrugged casually, "What can I say? Some days it's just nice not to be alone over night."

The youngest Winchester had no intention to go into detail and he didn't think Dean would appreciate it anyway, but some nights he was plagued by nightmares and it helped to have his best friend close to him then. Other times Tarot had a bad day and Adam simply didn't want to leave him alone for hours on end, even if he'd be sleeping while his friend stayed awake. At first Adam stuck to the couch for those nights, but then he realized it was ridiculous not to use the comfort of a perfectly good bed just because it technically was another guy's. As Terry said, he wasn't sleeping in it. Plus, the mattress was suspiciously similar to his own, he suspected Gabriel might be nosing as much as Dean.

"Right and there's nothing else..." Dean stated in a disbelieving tone. Adam sounded serious, but the oldest Winchester found it awfully hard to believe there was nothing more to the story. Dean had seen the way his brother and the angel acted around each other. Only Sam and Gabriel were worse, but those two were the biggest PDA offenders Dean had ever seen and would be hard to one-up.

"No, there isn't," Adam replied still sounding amused, before he became more serious, "Dean, do you really think that two guys can't be emotionally close without anything sexual involved? Wow, I mean... wow. Grow up!"

Sam cringed inwardly. He loved his older brother he really did, but Dean was a bit of an emotional stump. At least, Dean liked to act like he was. Asking him about anything related to emotions could only lead to someone being called a girl. The argument wouldn't end anytime soon like this, that was for sure.

"Maybe we could..." Sam tried to change the topic, though he was nearly certain it was a fruitless attempt even before Dean interrupted him.

"Hey, don't act like I'm seeing things! You two are crazy close," Dean insisted.

"So are you and Sam, or you and Cas for that matter," Adam retorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Sammy and I are brothers!" Dean exclaimed, completely ignoring the second part of Adam's statement. Basically the same applied in that case anyway, even if unofficially.

"And Terry and I are brothers by choice," Adam replied, throwing his arms in the air in exasperation. Adam had learned to accept Sam and Dean as his -biological- brothers. He liked them and wanted to be a part of their family. On his terms. Adam and Tarot didn't have a biological family bond, but they just made a connection Adam couldn't describe in any words other than brotherly. "You know, that black and white mentality of yours might be good for hunting, but I'm gonna tell you, sexuality and relationships for that matter work on a much broader spectrum with all different shades of grey."

"Are you trying to lecture me on sex? Seriously dude? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I know more about that than you could ever dream of, youngling," Dean huffed out a laugh.

Sam didn't allow himself to roll his eyes. It sounded like they might be finally getting away from that particular topic -especially since Adam simply snorted and turned to look out of the window- and the younger Winchester would do nothing to stir the debate up again.

 

* * *

 

 

"This sucks," Gabriel proclaimed dramatically, after he tried to rub another handful of burn relief aloe lotion into his skin, "I feel like the last sardine left over in the can of oil, but it still itches!"

The former archangel was sitting in the living room, watching a comedy with Chuck while Tarot worked on one of his clocks. All in all it was a nice, quiet afternoon. Gabriel would have enjoyed the hell out of it, if only he didn't feel like his skin was all too hot, tight and itchy. Of course, scratching only led to intense pain and Chuck of all people had already slapped the back of Gabriel's hand, twice, when he was too tempted to scratch again.

"The joys of being human," the prophet chuckled, trying hard not to be too amused by the former archangel's predicament. Chuck liked Gabriel, he really did, but the man put him through a lot not too long ago. The prophet couldn't help feeling like a little discomfort was something Gabriel deserved.

Gabriel nodded emphatically. There were certain downsides to having a completely human body for sure. Papercuts, sunburns, aching muscles and the like. However, Chuck was obviously having a little too much fun at Gabriel's expense, so the former archangel decided to make the prophet squirm, if only with words.

"Don't even get me started on premature e..." Gabriel started, before a gentle touch to his shoulder made him lose his train of thought. At the same time, the former archangel's skin returned to its usual color, the itching and the pain gone.

"Thanks, bro," Gabriel stated surprised as he looked over at his little brother.

"You're... welcome," Tarot nodded tightly, blinking erratically for a few moments. The sandy-haired seraph took a few steadying breaths before he smiled at the former archangel. Tarot didn't like using his powers much, but he disliked seeing his brother in pain more. Prioritizing sure made making choices easier.

 

* * *

 

 

"How about a bathroom break? Some food maybe?" Adam asked with a groan.

"And I thought Sammy was the girl in the family," Dean huffed, throwing a side glance toward his snoozing younger brother before he looked into the rear view mirror to meet his youngest brother's eyes. The oldest Winchester was nearly convinced that Sam was only feigning sleep to be left out of the arguments between Adam and Dean. He could test that theory later, after he dealt with Adam's latest outburst.

"It's been hours, Dean," Adam pointed out, trying to keep the whine out of his voice. It was hard not to get the slightest little bit whiny when being stuck on the backseat of a car for hours. His older brothers weren't the only ones in the family with long legs! It didn't help that they still had more than a day's worth of driving ahead of them.

"We're on a tight schedule here," Dean replied in a tone that made clear he didn't intend to stop anytime soon, unless it was a question of life and death and maybe not even then.

"Right," Adam snorted, "Why is that anyway?"

"Vegas Week starts on Monday," Dean answered matter-of-factly.

"Dude, it's not like you have to get back to your 9 to 5 desk job," Adam argued, trying to keep his voice quiet in case Sam really was sleeping. The youngest Winchester suspected his older brother was only acting at this point, but he couldn't be sure.

"So? The week starts on Monday, that's how it is. It's a tradition," Dean retorted in a tone that didn't allow for objections. At least, it wouldn't allow objections usually. Adam somehow always managed to ignore things like that. Sometimes Dean couldn't help wondering how their father and Adam managed not to kill each other the few times they met. Dean didn't believe for a second that Adam didn't know how to -and did- push John's buttons just as well as he knew how to push Dean's.

"It's just one of those things you're irrationally stubborn about," Adam summed up what his oldest brother had said.

"Basically, yeah," Dean admitted just to take the wind out of Adam's sails. If the little punk thought Dean didn't know how to deal with a smart-alec, he'd better think again! Dean had been around when Sam went through teenage hell, after all. "If you don't like it, you can always get out of the car."

"Oh, you'd stop off, if I wanted out?" Adam asked in a challenging tone, raising his eyebrow.

"I never said I'd stop," Dean pointed out with a grin and a dangerous glint in his eye as he met Adam's gaze in the rearview window once more.

"Some vacation this is..."


	5. Chapter 5

**4**

 

"This sucks, man," Dean complained, putting his half-empty bottle of beer back on the table with more force than strictly necessary. They were in Vegas, it should've been a good time between brothers, but instead they were sitting in one of the lamest bars and Adam was nursing a bottle of Pepsi, because he didn't want to use his brand new fake ID more than necessary. Like they were going to get busted! Dean knew how to fake an ID that'd fool everybody! Clearly their dad used all the cool genes when Dean was conceived, so Adam and Sam were lacking in that respect. Thinking of Sam...

"You keep saying that," Adam huffed, "You know Dean, you're not my first choice for the brother I'd like to hang out with either."

To be fair, the youngest Winchester had to admit that arguing with Dean turned into something like a game somewhere into their second day on the road. Adam assumed his oldest brother felt the same way. It might have been a little inconsiderate of them to continue their little game with Sam trapped between them though.

"Shut up, twerp," Dean retorted with a snort, before he raised his beer bottle again and added casually, "You know you love me."

"Does that work for you with anyone else?" Adam asked, raising an eyebrow at his oldest brother.

"Actually..." Dean coughed awkwardly. The oldest Winchester hadn't realized he used one of the phrases he occasionally used with Sam in time to stop himself, but it was just like Adam to take him too seriously and then shoot him down just because.

"Huh," Adam replied with a thoughtful expression. The youngest Winchester could see how Dean's general personality and attitude could appeal to a lot of people, it just so happened that Adam wasn't one of them. Honestly, Adam liked his oldest brother best when he dropped the overly cocky and bossy attitude, which happened all too rarely. At least, it didn't happen often when Adam was around to benefit from it.

"Okay, so we both think Balthazar is a douche and we like fast and the furious," Dean cleared his throat after a moment of awkward silence, "Think we can add being annoyed over Sammy just dumping us to the list?"

It seemed like Sam's insistence that they were impossible and that he needed a couple hours for himself after enduring their constant fighting in the car for two days, should be another thing Dean and Adam had in common. The oldest Winchester figured it wouldn't hurt to find some more common ground with his youngest brother while they only had each other for company. Sam was bound to return sometime and then they could try to enjoy what was left of their Vegas week. Being on good terms with Adam surely would make that easier too.

"Don't know man, I mean... Honestly, I understand why he walked out," Adam shrugged, before he added with a small grin, "You were acting ridiculous in the car."

"Somebody's asking for a punch," Dean stated seriously, glaring at his youngest brother.

"Jeez, Dean, I was kidding," Adam groaned, raising his hands in defeat, "We were both acting a little ridiculous."

Not that Sam's pretense to be asleep much more and for much longer than was believable wasn't a little childish too. Adam supposed they all had a tendency to be immature about certain things. There was only one thing they all had in common that could be blamed for that fact. Clearly, in the end, it was John's fault.

"As we tend to do when we spend any amount of time together," Dean observed dryly. The oldest Winchester would normally say that Adam was the more ridiculous one between them, but pointing that out would only lead to another argument and not get them anywhere. Contrary to popular belief, Dean knew when to keep his mouth shut, he just chose not to most of the time.

"Spot on, dude," Adam agreed, taking another swig from his Pepsi. Apparently, there was another thing they could agree on after all. Not that it would change anything much between them.

"You don't think there's any chance we could maybe change that?" Dean asked. The oldest Winchester wasn't sure if he should be offended when Adam's eyes widened in surprise and he nearly choked on his drink.

"Yeah, not really," Adam stated with a shrug. The youngest Winchester sighed deeply when he saw Dean's honest to God dejected look. His oldest brother probably didn't even realize he had let his emotions show.

"Okay, hear me out here. I never had an older brother, or a father for that matter," Adam explained, watching Dean closely for any signs that his oldest brother was reacting negatively. He'd do jack to bare his soul to someone who'd only mock him for it later on! "I had that guy who was acting like he was a part of my life for one day a year, that's it. I like you and Sam, I really do. I like being your brother, but don't expect me to suddenly take the role of little brother. I don't know how to be a little brother and honestly, I don't want to..."

"You _are_ our baby brother," Dean interrupted Adam's rant. The oldest Winchester could see his brother's point, he honestly could, but it changed nothing about the fact that Adam was their youngest brother. He could dislike it all he wanted, it was a biological fact!

"Just try to leave that title to Sam. He owns it," Adam suggested in an attempt to be reasonable. When Dean didn't object immediately, Adam decided it was time to direct their conversation to a different topic before another argument erupted. "I wonder what he's doing."

"Something geeky," Dean answered without having to think about it. The oldest Winchester would drop dead from surprise if it turned out Sam went to a casino to gamble or to a strip club voluntarily. If his younger brother had the chance for once he'd let his geek flag fly, Dean was sure.

"Like getting tickets to the Blue Man Group?" Adam asked with a smirk.

"More like Cirque du Soleil," Dean retorted with a snort. Granted, there were a lot of good things to be said for acrobatic women, but Sam would watch the show for its artistic merits and nothing else.

"You know, that actually sounds..." Adam coughed, looking away when Dean threw an exasperated side-glance his way.

"I'm surrounded by nerds!" Dean groaned, throwing his arms in the air. It was that moment that the older Winchester's phone announced he had a text message. Speak of the devil and all that... "Looks like we're about to find out where Sammy disappeared to. Did you bring a suit?"

 

* * *

 

 

"You're drawing!" Gracie squealed excitedly, "What're ya drawing?"

A visit from Gracie's grandmother forced the girl to spend most of the afternoon inside the house instead of keeping her angel company, but when she finally managed to sneak away the young girl was delighted to see the angel drawing something with the colored pencils and notepad she left in the playhouse the other day. Honestly, Gracie had never seen the angel do anything for fun before and often wondered what he was doing when she wasn't there to entertain him. It was good to know that he had hobbies.

The girl tried her best to get her hands on the notepad, before her angel managed to hide it from her. Gracie tried not to hurt the angel in their ensuing struggle, but her curiosity about the drawing made her forget to be extra careful for a second. An accidental elbow to the ribs later the girl had the notepad in her hands.

"What's that?" Gracie asked with a deep frown. The drawing looked scary with all the black figures and flames. Her angel was often hard to make sense of, but Gracie had thought he'd draw nice things. Maybe something from heaven, or...

"Hell," Lucifer answered with a groan. The abomination had knocked the wind out of him with her elbow, she deserved a merciless -and true- answer!

"Why're you drawing hell?" Gracie asked in a confused tone. The girl sat cross legged next to the bed the angel was sitting in, considering the man in front of her. There had to be a reason why an angel of all people would draw hell, right? He probably wouldn't want to tell her though, because he was frustrating like that at times.

"Forget..." Lucifer started just as Gracie expected. However this time the former archangel stopped himself a considering expression crossing his face. In all honesty, Lucifer was drawing scenes from hell, because they haunted him as soon as he closed his eyes, like he had never left. The demons, the racks, the screams, the fact Lucifer had been the one who started... The former archangel pushed those thoughts away. That wasn't what this was all about. The girl kept asking him these stupid questions and Lucifer decided to see how she'd deal with the truth! "What if I told you some angels live in hell?"

"Why?" Gracie immediately asked alarmed. It sounded like her angel had more to tell her that went against everything she always believed. Gracie didn't like hearing those things, but she felt she had to hear them. She had told her angel that she'd understand, if only he made the effort to try and explain, after all.

"They do things their father or brothers don't like and get thrown out of heaven and into hell," Lucifer answered, distaste written all over his face.

"What things?" Gracie asked, looking thoughtful. She tried to think of reasons why an angel would be forced to live in hell, but couldn't come up with any crime bad enough. None Gracie believed her angel could ever have committed anyway. The God her father had taught her about loved and forgave his children, angels were his children too!

"Disobeying mostly," Lucifer shrugged. He realized he was severely simplifying things, but in the end that was what it all boiled down to. Lucifer refused to accept humans the way his father asked and he didn't step down no matter how hard his brothers pushed.

"That's not fair!" Gracie exclaimed with conviction, "You don't get thrown out of home because you disobey! You get a stern talking to and no dessert for a week."

"Try spending a couple thousand years in special hell, completely cut off from everyone you've ever loved," Lucifer snorted. It wasn't like the devil never considered that he might have made a couple missteps, but he was convinced that the punishment did not fit the crime in his case. Over the millennia, Lucifer had started to focus on the latter more and more. What did it help to beat himself over the head with the mistakes he made, when it was his father and brothers' decisions that were the reason why he was imprisoned? It wasn't like anybody would've shown him any mercy, anyway.

"Why are you crying?" Lucifer asked with a deep frown when he noticed the tears glinting in the little girl's eyes. The former archangel decided days ago that crying was one of those really annoying things humans were capable of. He considered calling it nothing but a mean to emotionally manipulate others, but somehow that didn't seem right. Lucifer just couldn't get himself to believe that his little abomination was that devious no matter how hard he tried.

"'C-cause it's so... so un-unfair," Gracie replied, sniffling.

Lucifer opened his mouth and closed it again without making a sound. The kid -Grace- was crying because she felt bad for him, because she thought he had been wronged, because she liked him and didn't like hearing about his time in hell any more than she liked hearing that her father was never going to be an angel. Lucifer swallowed heavily. It didn't make sense, but he felt like his own eyes were getting wet.

Gracie wiped her tears away with her hands, but looked up at her angel surprised the moment she felt his hand pet her head. It was the first time she saw him look at her with a small smile. Gracie smiled back and climbed on the bed to hug him very carefully.

"Your home is here now."

 

* * *

 

 

The newly crowned king of hell sat alone in his dark, luxurious office sipping from his favorite bottle of Craig whiskey. He had gotten everything he wanted... except for the reassurance he could make it last.... A crack ran up the glass as Crowley gripped the tumbler in frustration. Never trust anyone who was willing to associate with those no good, plaid wearing, deal breaking cheats called Winchesters!

The clicking of a door opening grabbed his attention.

"Sir." Demon seven hundred billion four hundred and twenty three -who probably had a real name, but why would Crowley care?- bowed deeply. It was more a show of fear than of real respect, but the new king of hell was satisfied with it. The common demons -most crossroad demons already respected Crowley- could learn to respect him later, fear was enough to start.

"Any news of them?" Crowley asked with an apparent sigh in his tone. He had no patience for failure that moment.

"No Sir... there's no trace of them....your highness..." the demon said looking visibly frightened.

Crowley's eyes just narrowed and in the blink of an eye, the glass tumbler was shattering on the demons face. " _Leave_! _Now_! Don't you _dare_ come back until you find them!"

"Yes Sir!" The demon said rushing out with tiny cuts now littered over his face, just grateful to still be relatively alive and unharmed. The demon had never been unlucky enough to be in Lucifer's close vicinity, but from what he heard the devil's temper was worse than their new king's, so in a way things were better now. Of course, better always was a relative term in hell...

Crowley just sighed and slouched in his big rolling chair, one arm stretched out to pet his hellhound's head. "Bloody trickster archangel."

 

* * *

 

 

"What are we doing here?" Adam asked clearly bewildered as he walked down a hallway next to his oldest brother. Dean seemed to think that Sam called them in because he stumbled upon a case, but Adam didn't believe it. Sam might have called Dean, but he wouldn't have told Dean to bring Adam. Sam knew better than that.

"Hell if I know," Dean replied, one hand always close to the concealed gun at his hip. Sam's message only said they should come to this address and wear suits. They were lucky Adam even brought one, though it was doubtful the teenager could pass as a FBI agent. Dean would have to pretend it was bring your kid brother to work day or something.

"Dean, this is a..." Adam wanted to point out that they walked into one of the many wedding chapels around, but was interrupted before he could share his observation. Dean most likely noticed as well anyway.

"Guys! I'm so glad you could make it!" Sam exclaimed as he hugged first his older and then his younger brother, both of which looked completely bewildered. The younger Winchester didn't pay his brothers' confusion any mind though. They were here for an important reason and it would be revealed to them in good time. Sam led his brothers through the door he emerged from just a minute ago.

"Yeah, uh... Sam what..?" Dean started before he was rudely interrupted.

"Just, stand here," Sam stated with an oddly bright smile as he grabbed Dean by the shoulders and more or less dragged him toward the front of the chapel and he left his older brother standing at the right side before turning to his younger brother. "And you stand there."

"What the hell, man?" Adam asked with a deep frown as he was pushed to the left side. The youngest Winchester thought he was starting to understand what this was about, but it did nothing to diminish his confusion. Gabriel was back in Celebration, wasn't he? Granted, the former archangel said he'd hop on a plane if he started to miss Sam too much. Maybe Gabriel had given them a hint none of them understood at the time? Was it even legal in Nevada?

"I... I know this is short notice, but... what can I say? I'm getting married," Sam explained, his smile widening even though it looked like it shouldn't have been possible.

"What?" Dean exclaimed, fighting the urge to shake his younger brother. How could Sam just dump something like that on them and expect them to be okay with it? Short notice didn't even begin to cover it!

"Can't say it's completely unexpected, but I'd have thought you'd invite... you know... the whole impromptu family," Adam replied much calmer than his oldest brother. So, Gabriel had indeed hopped on a plane. It sounded like something the former archangel would do and it wasn't that surprising to Adam that Sam would play along with it. Especially after they had annoyed him so much for two days in the car, Sam might have chosen to combine his revenge on them with the happiest day of his life.

"Oh, I wanted to, but we're in a bit of a hurry and..." Sam stopped speaking as the music set in and the door opened once more.

"Who the hell is that?" it was Adam's turn to raise his voice. The person walking toward them was clearly female, which gave the youngest Winchester the realization that it was either an elaborate prank or their lives had just taken an unexpected and very worrying turn.

"Becky?"


	6. Chapter 6

**5**

 

Adam was pacing the hallway of the chapel. The youngest Winchester wouldn't say that he overreacted, but he could understand why it looked like it from an outsider's perspective. He admittedly shouldn't have insisted that Becky was an evil witch and needed to be dealt with quite so vehemently with civilians around. Adam stopped in his tracks when the doors to the chapel opened and Dean came outside.

"How could you...?" the youngest Winchester immediately started to accuse his oldest brother. Dean just stood by and let that woman have her way when it was all too obvious that something was wrong with Sam! Sam would never betray Gabriel like this and Adam knew it. That begged the question, if Adam could see it, why couldn't Dean?

"They're going to Pike Creek, Delaware," the oldest Winchester interrupted his youngest brother before Adam could get into a full blown rant.

"What?" Adam asked, staring at his brother dumbly. Of all the things the youngest Winchester thought Dean might say...

"How was I supposed to find out about that if I'd gotten myself kicked out like you did, genius?" Dean snorted, raising an eyebrow at his youngest brother. If Adam thought it was easy for Dean to just stand by and watch whatever exactly it was that just happened he was sorely mistaken. Someone had to keep their cool and plan ahead. Of course they had to do something, but with Sam seemingly consenting to the whole ordeal they had to be careful. Sammy, even though he was a big girl, could hit really hard if the circumstances were right -or rather, completely wrong- and it wouldn't help anyone if any of them got arrested.

"That wasn't really Sam in there," Adam muttered, crossing his arms in front of his chest and jutting his jaw out in defiance. Dean had a point, of course he did, but Adam's reaction hadn't been completely uncalled for either.

"Don't you think I know that?" Dean replied sharply, "I've known him a bit longer than you."

The oldest Winchester knew something was wrong with Sam basically from the moment he saw his brother's stupid smile. Dean could be wrong, but the fact that Becky of all people was behind all this seemed like a relatively good silver lining. Becky wanted Sam, it wasn't exactly a secret, but she wouldn't want to harm him. They still couldn't let her get her way on the longer run.

"Then why the hell didn't you do something?" Adam demanded, clearly not understanding the logic behind his oldest brother's action -or rather, inaction.

"He only got married," Dean shrugged casually.

"Yeah, right, it's _only_ marriage," Adam glared at his oldest brother. Was Adam the only one thinking of the bigger picture here? It wasn't only about Sam being under some sort of... curse or the like. What about Gabriel?

"Hey, compared to the consequences we deal with usually that's negligible," Dean retorted reasonably, as he thought. It was obvious Adam had something to say to that, but the newlyweds were about to leave, so they had something to do other than to get into a yelling match. They'd have hours and hours on the road to do just that. Again. "Now shut your mouth and let's go."

 

* * *

 

 

"Despite what Hope might have told you, you can talk to me. I don't bite," Hope's uncle spoke up after some time spent working in silence. Gregory asked Michael to help him sort through the neglected paperwork of the church partly to get the young man away from his niece for a while, but mostly to get to know their guest better. Hope was doing everything she could not to leave Michael alone with her aunt or uncle, which Gregory normally would have put a stop to immediately. His niece might be twenty-two years old, but she behaved dangerously close to a petulant teenager at times. Then again, Michael seemed as far from a teenager, behavior wise, as any twenty-something male could be, so Gregory decided not to interfere.

"I... uh..." Michael cleared his throat awkwardly, trying and failing to come up with a good small talk topic, "That's a lot of paperwork."

The former archangel figured that sharing an observation was better than keeping quiet, but he realized it was not what the other man expected. In all honesty, Michael had his moments in which he itched to just talk about all the things running through his head since his fall, but he wasn't sure if this was the time, the place, or the company for it.

"I try to keep up with it, but people always take priority over paperwork," Gregory replied with a small smile, before he put the stack of papers he had been looking at aside and focused his attention at the young man next to him, "Where would you say your priorities lie, Michael?"

"I... I'm not so sure anymore, Sir," Michael admitted after a moment of consideration. If it weren't so confusing, it would've been funny how the former archangel's world had been turned upside down. It wasn't that long ago that Michael wouldn't have had to think about the question for even a second. He had to keep heaven running, making sure God's laws were upheld even in His absence... Michael, the human, didn't have any of those duties.

"I understand you don't speak about your life, but is this your idea of a sabbatical to find yourself?" Gregory asked cautiously. The minister didn't mean to pry or push the young man too much, but while they were already talking Gregory could at least try to gather some information. Michael was living in the minister's home, so it was personal, but putting all that aside, the young man gave off vibes of somebody who needed guidance. Strangely enough, Michael seemed to look for guidance in Hope, which was an unlikely place to say the least, if you asked Gregory.

"That seems like a fitting description," Michael answered, frowning. It wasn't exactly the former archangel's idea to go on 'a sabbatical' as the minister called it, but with the signs he had been given Michael thought he had fallen exactly for that purpose.

"What about your family?" Gregory tried to keep his voice casual. Usually runaways -which was what he thought Michael most likely was- didn't have happy tales about their families. At least the young man didn't react like the minister had just poked into a hornets' nest. If anything, Michael looked like he had to contemplate the question harder than Gregory assumed would be necessary.

"I haven't been close to anyone in a very long time," Michael finally admitted, "There is nobody who'll miss me."

The former archangel realized that there had to be chaos after his disappearance. Most angels were so used to following orders, they generally did not do much without an order. In all honesty, Michael himself was one of those. He got his orders from God -even if there hadn't been new ones in ages, the old ones still had to be followed- and relayed them to his siblings, usually through Raphael.

Michael was sure a lot of his siblings missed their leader, but he doubted any of them missed their brother. The thought stung at the former archangel's heart, but he had to admit he wasn't innocent in the matter. Nobody forced him to withdraw from his brothers and sisters, but after Lucifer's fall and the Great War...

"When Hope first brought you into my house I was skeptical, but I have to admit that she was right about you," Gregory stated with a small smile, before he added, "You can stay however long you want."

It wasn't like having Michael around was a burden. The young man was helpful, polite and one of the least troublesome people Gregory had ever known. The minister had to admit he had thought Hope was exaggerating when she told them how lost Michael appeared. He had originally thought it was a ploy to get her way without any long discussions, but it seemed his niece wanted the young man around for all the right reasons.

"Thank you, Sir," Michael replied, smiling back. The former archangel couldn't explain it, but those little signs that he was accepted always made him feel good. It was something he never realized he was missing. Over years and years Michael's contact to anybody other than Raphael had been very limited and to be honest his relationship with Raphael was strained to put it mildly.

"No need to thank me," Gregory stated with a dismissive gesture, before he added, "You seem to be a really good influence on my niece."

Hope assumed it was destiny that her aunt told her to bring sandwiches and lemonade for the two men just in time to hear her uncle talk about her. The young woman couldn't explain why the bit she heard of the conversation hit her as deeply as it did and -in all honesty- she didn't want to think about it too much. So her uncle thought she could use some good influence. Not like that was anything new.

"Are you talking about me behind my back?" Hope asked with an exaggerated groan, pushing her other thoughts and feelings aside, "Isn't there, like, a commandment against that? Thou shalt not be a chatterbox or something?"

Michael turned to look at Hope just in time to get a glass of lemonade and a plate with a sandwich on it passed to him. Her sense of humor was something that took some getting used to, but the former archangel found he started to appreciate it more and more. There was something Michael felt he had to add to the topic though.

"In all honesty, I assumed it was Hope who has a good influence on me," the former archangel admitted. Maybe it was possible that they had a good influence on each other, even if Michael didn't know what his influence on Hope was supposed to be. There had to be something if her uncle saw it, though.

Hope couldn't help staring at Michael open mouthed for a few moments. There was nothing but honesty in his words. None of the slight teasing -or flirting- Hope would have expected. He said it completely seriously. "Wow, I've never been accused of something like that before."

"I didn't mean..." Michael tried to make up for the mistake he apparently made by voicing his thoughts. The former archangel wasn't sure what exactly the accusation in his statement was supposed to be, but he didn't want Hope to think...

"I know, Michael," Hope answered with a smile, leaning in to kiss his cheek before she took the time to consider if it was a good idea. Then again, looking at Michael's reddened cheeks and confused expression, it had been a very good decision; if only because the look on the man's face would keep her amused for a while.

 

* * *

 

 

"Bobby, listen, we're on the way to Pike Creek and..." Dean told the old hunter as soon as Bobby picked up the phone. They still had some time on the road ahead of them, but there was only so long Dean and Adam could argue before uncomfortable silence set in and that was when Dean decided they might as well call Bobby immediately. Maybe the old hunter had an idea of what exactly they were dealing with, or at least what to look for in his books. The sooner they got their Sam back, the better. Dean had to admit he didn't think of it at first, but Gabriel was bound to call Sam some time and then one of them if he didn't reach Sam. Actually, they'd be lucky if the former archangel didn't reach Sam.

"Are you boys workaholics or something?" Bobby's gruff voice brought Dean out of his thoughts, "I just called in somebody else for the case."

"Woah, wait. What case?" Dean frowned deeply. If there was something going on in Pike Creek and that was where Becky and Sam were headed, that couldn't be a coincidence. Coincidences like that just didn't exist, at least not when they involved the Winchesters.

"A case? What case? Dean, what the hell are you talking about?" Adam exclaimed, staring at Dean intensely from the shotgun seat. The youngest Winchester wasn't keen on being dragged into anything supernatural, but he was already in the middle of it -again- and thought he deserved to know what exactly they were getting into. Granted, Adam and Bobby hadn't parted on the best of terms, but the youngest Winchester wanted to hear the old man speak directly. Adam trusted any information he heard out of Bobby's mouth directly more than any half-assed retelling Dean might give him later.

"Hold on, Adam's being a whiny bitch, I'll put you on speaker," Dean told Bobby with a groan.

"People dying in freak accidents. If I didn't know better, I'd say it could be a trickster," Bobby elaborated once he was sure Dean managed to put him on speaker. Granted, it could still be a trickster, but not the usual suspect. In fact, the old hunter considered calling Gabriel to ask if the former archangel had anything to contribute. Bobby didn't know how much of the archangel knowledge Gabriel used to have was still there, but it was worth a shot.

"Wait, people are dying in freak accidents and Sam just married..." Adam frowned deeply. Alright, Sam's marriage hadn't killed him, but it sure was freaky and Adam would call it an accident looking at the bigger picture. Of course, hearing that other people had died gave the whole situation another worrying turn. It was bad enough that Sam for some reason agreed to marry Becky, but thinking that whatever evil force was involved usually involved casualties...

"Sam what?" Bobby exclaimed.

Dean's mind supplied him with the picture of Bobby taking off his cap to scratch his head. The oldest Winchester could also mentally see their mentor reaching for a bottle of whiskey to wash the news down with. Not that Dean could blame him. The oldest Winchester might have done the same, if he didn't have a long drive ahead and an extremely pedantic co-driver.

"Remember Becky the superfan? Sam fell head over heels in love -his words, not mine- and they had a Vegas wedding," Dean explained with a snort. Actually, putting it like that the whole thing sounded nearly funny. Like a bad joke. How the oldest Winchester wished it was nothing more than that.

"Balls," Bobby replied eloquently, as he poured himself another glass of whiskey.

"That guy you sent, is he good?" Dean asked after a moment of silence. Knowing that another hunter was working the same case usually didn't count as good news. A lot of hunters were competitive and it was hard to say what exactly they had heard of the Winchester family before. Having to work with hunters they had never met before -and sometimes even those they had met before- turned out badly or at least frustrating for them more often than not. In this case however, it would be good to have someone for the other victims while they only focused on Sam and Becky.

"No boy, I sent somebody who's going to get his ass killed in the first five minutes," Bobby stated sarcastically. Really, what was Dean thinking? Like Bobby would ever send the wrong person for the job! Granted, sometimes the case turned out to be completely different to what it appeared and then it was possible the person Bobby called was the wrong person, but it didn't happen often. The old hunter groaned before he added, "He's an airhead, but he killed the Tooth Fairy on his first hunt."

"The Tooth Fairy?" Adam asked, his eyes widening, "Thanks for the next couple of nightmares."

The youngest Winchester made a mental note to look up any and all legends he could find about Florida and especially their corner of it. Obviously you never knew which might have some truth in them and Adam really didn't want to add something like death by leprechaun to his list.

"Don't be a baby, Adam. Bobby said that guy already killed her," Dean pointed out, his tone giving away that he was amused, before he became serious again, "Okay, so tell him we're going to be there, but working sub-case Sammy."

There was silence between the brothers for a while after Dean hung up. The oldest Winchester could see that there was something going through his youngest brother's head, but knowing Adam he'd share when he was ready. Of all of them, Adam was the one who needed the least prodding just to talk.

"Is this how it goes?" Adam huffed out a breath a few moments later.

"How what goes?" Dean inquired, throwing a side glance at his brother. Apparently, whatever exactly Adam was thinking about wasn't all that pleasant. Nobody should ever accuse Dean of wanting to have a heart to heart with anybody, but if Adam was being cryptic the oldest Winchester had to get to the bottom of it.

"You're just living your life, minding your own business, away from hunting, but then some case comes and finds you anyway?" Adam elaborated. Exactly that happened to the youngest Winchester just before. He had been even less prepared then than he was now, but even after everything this still caught him unprepared. Adam honestly thought they could just have a family vacation, but maybe he should've seen it coming.

"Most of the time, yeah," Dean replied with a shrug.

"Great," Adam sighed deeply. What chances did he have to just live a normal life surrounded by friends and family who were that deeply involved with the supernatural?

"Hey... look... we're not going to let that happen to you," Dean cleared his throat awkwardly, before he added, "It's about time one Winchester gets out, even if he's a Milligan."

Adam's eyes widened in surprise, but he couldn't help smiling. Maybe he and Dean understood each other better than the youngest Winchester first assumed after all.


	7. Chapter 7

**6**

 

"We should call Gabriel," Adam stated, after dropping his duffle bag on the bed furthest from the door. For some reason Dean insisted on having the other bed and after another three days on the road -Sam and Becky apparently wanted to stop at night and sleep when driving across the country- Adam just didn't have it in him to have unnecessary arguments with Dean anymore.

However, the youngest Winchester thought it was high time they let Sam's life partner in on what had happened. The newlyweds had reached their destination, so Sam's brothers knew where 'the happy couple' was going to be for the next couple of days. It was time to work on getting Sam away from that woman and Gabriel could be vital in achieving that. Besides, the former archangel deserved to know.

"Oh sure, I'm looking forward to _that_ conversation," Dean huffed. In all fairness, his youngest brother's suggestion was logical, but the oldest Winchester really didn't want to deal with Gabriel on top of everything. The former trickster wouldn't like the news any that was for sure. while Becky clearly deserved whatever Gabriel could cook up for her, Dean just didn't think it would help them with getting Sam back.

"Could you listen to me just once?" Adam asked with a groan. Dean didn't look too happy, but didn't say anything, which was good enough for the youngest Winchester to continue, "Okay, look, Sam loves Gabriel. Like really loves him. Shouldn't that override whatever is forcing him to love that Becky woman right now?"

"I know you're living close to Disney World..." Dean started in a clearly belittling tone before his youngest brother cut him off.

"If things like the Tooth Fairy are real, why not this?" Adam asked, raising an eyebrow at his oldest brother. His brothers were working with things most people thought were just stories and myths every day, why wouldn't something else straight from a fairy tale work then? Adam didn't think it was that easy to completely override somebody's free will -if it were, wouldn't his two older brothers be vessels for two archangels right now?- and Sam's free will clearly was to be with Gabriel. If something else was influencing Sam to think about the matter differently that moment, shouldn't coming face to face with what he actually wanted have some sort of effect?

"Because..." Dean shot back immediately, before he realized he didn't know how to end his statement. Adam had a point, but Dean still didn't believe it would work. "Because we can't be that lucky."

Adam couldn't help the small, victorious smile. "We're calling Gabriel."

 

* * *

 

 

Gabriel tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes as he half-walked, half-stumbled downstairs to have breakfast with his two temporary roommates. Getting up in the mornings without Sam there to make it definitely pleasant and worthwhile was a chore Gabriel thought he'd much rather do without. Then again something sure was smelling good and the former archangel's stomach was rumbling. Nothing could trump and early morning 'You sure you don't want to get up, Gabe?' handjob, but in the absence of his boyfriend the former archangel would make do with some sugary treat.

"Alright, but why Cogsworth over the White Rabbit?" Chuck asked, sounding much more interested than the former archangel would have thought given what the question was about. The prophet was sitting at the kitchen table with a big mug of coffee and a plate full of ham and eggs. That couldn't be what Gabriel had smelled. Sure, the eggs smelled good too, but his nose had told him there was something more dessert-like around.

"He's not... so hectic," Tarot replied, nodding to himself. The sandy-haired angel was standing next to the kitchen isle, his arms crossed in front of his chest, but looking as relaxed as he ever was otherwise. To Tarot's delight it turned out Chuck actually was all for the classic Disney movies. The prophet said he liked how timeless they were and how they could reach people, two things Tarot wholeheartedly agreed with.

"Fair enough," Chuck stated, taking another sip of his coffee. Personally, the prophet preferred _Alice in Wonderland_ over _Beauty and the Beast_ , but he understood why Tarot saw things differently. Especially after the angel already said that Belle reminded him of Adam.

"Okay... he doesn't sleep, but I never figured you for a morning person, Chuckles," Gabriel commented dryly, plopping down in the chair across from the prophet.

"Third cup," Chuck retorted, raising his mug. To tell the truth, Chuck learned to appreciate a more conventional day-to-day routine shortly after Adam and Tarot moved in with him. The angel unsurprisingly liked his daily routines as predictable as possible and Adam was all for fixed meal times and the like, so Chuck -once more- had to adapt. Like most of the things that changed around the house, the prophet thought it was a change for the better once he got used to it.

"Trading one addiction for another, are we?" Gabriel snarked, rubbing his eyes again. How did people manage to get up early every morning without going crazy?

"Wow, you're cranky in the mornings," Chuck observed, throwing a side-glance toward Tarot, who looked thoughtful, but otherwise mercifully unimpressed by his older brother's antics.

"I need sugar... without the coffee," Gabriel sighed, putting his hands on the table and resting his forehead on the back of his hands. The former archangel didn't mean to be grumpy, but he missed Sam more than he was willing to admit and there was nothing to distract him from the feeling. Gabriel only looked up when he heard the sound of a plate being put in front of him. The sweet aroma that had lured him downstairs was suddenly much stronger again too.

Tarot took an instinctive step back the moment Gabriel's head snapped toward him too quickly, but gave a small smile when he saw the happiness in his brother's expression. With Adam gone and Gabriel sleeping in his room, the angel spent a part of the night baking an apple pie just like Karen showed him how. Remembering Karen Singer always made Tarot melancholic, but he thought she would like to know he was using the knowledge she passed on to him.

"Sweet baby Jesus on a pogo stick!" Gabriel exclaimed a little too loudly after the first bite of pie. This was exactly what the former archangel needed to make peace with the new day. Gabriel knew it was a heat of the moment thought, but he decided Tarot was definitely his favorite brother.

"Is it... good?" the sandy-haired seraph asked with a small frown. His older brother's outburst made Tarot jump for a moment again, but judged by the former archangel's expression it had been a good outburst.

"Is it good?" Gabriel replied incredulously, before he added as seriously as he could, "Let me say it like this brother, if Dean knew of your pie making skills he'd totally dump Cassy for you."

Tarot frowned deeply. He wasn't quite sure he knew what his brother was getting at, but Chuck's stifled laughter made the angel realize it was a joke. Not really getting a joke was something Tarot could live with. It meant he didn't have to be very careful to never bake pie when Dean Winchester might come to visit.

"Speaking of the devil," Gabriel stated cheerfully, reaching for his phone that had just started to ring, "Hey Dean-o, of all the Winchesters I was expecting to call... You realize when I made that phone-sex offer it was only for Sam and not a general... Okay, okay, just a second."

The archangel fumbled around a bit before he managed to put his phone on speaker as the oldest Winchester requested. In all honesty, Gabriel was surprised and disappointed that it was Dean calling. The former archangel vowed to himself to give Sam some space and not call him constantly -which meant not calling him at all, because Gabriel knew he wouldn't be able to stop once he started- but he hoped Sam would call him instead. Gabriel forced himself to believe the brothers were having a good time and had too much on their schedule for Sam to call, but then why was Dean calling?

"Alright, try not to freak out immediately..." Dean cleared his throat awkwardly, which did nothing against the sudden burst of panic the archangel felt, but apparently gave the youngest Winchester enough time to throw his two cents in.

"Did you really just say that?" Adam asked incredulously. Of course, Dean had to insist that if anybody was going to call Gabriel it was going to be him, but Adam thought his oldest brother would at least have a plan what he was going to tell the archangel. Apparently, Dean was making it up as he went and he was off to a spectacularly bad start.

"I'd like to hear you come up with something better," Dean snorted.

"Guys, I _am_ freaking out here," Gabriel fought to keep his tone low, even though he felt like screaming. Something was wrong and he was sitting here having breakfast, unable to do anything.

"Look, Sam's in trouble and Adam thinks your presence might help," Dean explained, clearing his throat yet again. The oldest Winchester hadn't thought it would be this hard to just share the facts with the former archangel, but now that they were talking Dean couldn't bring himself to just spring the news over the phone.

"Terry, can you get Gabriel over as quickly as possible?" Adam asked quickly. It would be best to discuss the matter face-to-face, that was for sure. The youngest Winchester feared his angelic friend wouldn't like having to fly anywhere -even less with a passenger- but he was confident he could build up Tarot's confidence enough to get him to do it, if necessary.

"Y-yes," Tarot replied, taking a deep breath. Adam wouldn't ask him to do this if it wasn't important and Tarot could see that Gabriel was quickly becoming desperate. The seraph hadn't used his wings since they were restored, but flying was second nature to all angels.

"Okay, great," Adam sighed in relief, before adding the details Tarot would need to find them, "We're in Pike Creek, Delaware. It's the motel on main street."

Tarot and Gabriel exchanged a short look before the sandy-haired angel touched his brother's shoulder and they disappeared.

"Oh please, never mind me. I don't need an explanation anyway," Chuck groaned, putting his mug on the table a little too forcefully. Sometimes the prophet seriously missed his visions...

 

* * *

 

 

"You can't take more than one of those!" Gracie insisted, stealing the bottle of pills out of her angel's hands before he could get a second pill out. After some searching around, the little girl finally got her hands on the box where her mother kept her father's medicine. Gracie knew that medication wasn't useable forever, but most of the bottles were less than a year old. It wasn't like she could get her hands on anything better anyway. The pills Gracie kept stealing out of the cabinet in the bathroom weren't helping anymore, so they needed something stronger.

"It's my body, it's my pain, I'll do what I want," Lucifer replied much too close to petulantly for his own liking. The devil had to face the reality that he wasn't only not healing like he usually would, he was getting worse. The pain was getting less bearable every day. Lucifer could deal with pain, he hadn't known anything other than pain for a long time. What was worse was that Lucifer was getting sleepier and his senses were dulled.

"No!" Gracie stated decisively, hiding the bottle behind her back, "No more than one!"

"Why do you insist on torturing me?" Lucifer groaned overly dramatic. The former archangel only wanted to be free of all the pain for a while and the kid was dangling the solution in front of his face. Then she just had to insist he had to make do with a small dosage. If Lucifer didn't -as he had to admit to himself after recent events- like the girl, he'd have to say a few really nasty things.

"'Cause... 'cause..." Gracie stammered, trying to put the explanation she had been given by her father nearly a year ago together.

"Oh great, you don't even know why," Lucifer huffed, rolling his eyes. The devil had to admit that his little abomination usually had reasons for what she did. Grace was smart, he had to give her that, but it made her unreasonable behavior in this case even more frustrating.

"No! It's 'cause..." Gracie protested, taking a deep breath.

"I'm waiting," Lucifer stated, tenting his fingers and raising an eyebrow at her, which immediately made the pain the wounds in his face caused him flare up.

"There's medicine to make you get better and there's medicine to make you feel better, when you can't get better anymore," Gracie explained, her voice wavering, "One is for getting better."

Gracie was five years old when she first learned what the word cancer meant. Her father made a point to always tell her what was happening to him as best he could explain and she could understand. Gracie knew her way around the various bottles of pills her father was given, because he always let her help putting his daily dosage together. There were a lot of pills in the beginning, all of them to make her father get better. There were no pills at all for a short time. Then there were a lot of pills again, some of them the same as before, only their purpose suddenly changed.

Gracie only fully understood what her father had tried to tell her when her mother told her they had to say good bye while they could. There were a lot of tears and the realization that not getting better meant you would be gone forever.

"Okay, fine, one it is," Lucifer sighed, holding out his hand to accept the bottle once more. The former archangel realized he could just lie to the girl and do whatever the hell he wanted as soon as she wasn't watching anymore, but somehow that thought felt wrong.

"You'll get better," Gracie stated with conviction as she handed the bottle over to her angel. They just had to find the right medication for him, or he had to rest more and maybe eat more and everything would be fine in the end.

Lucifer saw the girl's troubled expression, but it didn't make sense to him until he allowed himself to consider what she just told him in depth. The former archangel knew the little abomination's father was dead and he knew she was getting nearly everything she brought to the playhouse for Lucifer from her father's old things. The realization caused the former archangel a completely different kind of pain than he was dealing with already.

"Why don't you tell me what you did in school today?" Lucifer finally managed to ask around the lump in his throat. He vowed to himself that this time he would actually listen to her stories too.

 

* * *

 

 

"There's somebody who'd like to see Sam," Dean stated the moment Becky opened the door. The oldest Winchester put his foot into the door just to make sure the woman couldn't close it on them. Apparently Becky didn't even think of not letting them see Sam though. Everything about the situation was strange and just fucked up, but Dean knew that before.

"Muffin," Gabriel's smile wavered as the younger Winchester stood behind Becky and put his arm around her shoulders. Sam looked happy. Carefree. Like he found his place. Everything Gabriel always wanted for him.

"Gabriel," Sam replied, clearly surprised to see the shorter man. The younger Winchester's expression became regretful as he added, "I'm sorry, I should've called you, but everything happened so fast."

Sam gave Gabriel an apologetic smile. Somewhere deep inside the younger Winchester felt an ache that didn't make sense to him that moment. What happened wasn't exactly fair toward Gabriel, that was probably what it was, Sam decided.

"It's... okay," Gabriel stated nearly tonelessly as he turned away and started to walk down the hallway and toward the exit.

Both Dean and Adam were too surprised by this turn of events to do anything other than to follow the former archangel. It even took a moment for the strong urge to strangle Becky to set in again, a feeling Adam was well accustomed to these days.

"It's okay? It's fucking okay?" Dean finally asked, his voice getting louder as he spoke on. Granted, the oldest Winchester didn't expect this whole true love thing to work, but he did expect Gabriel to come up with something much better than that!

"What was I supposed to say?" Gabriel replied, looking more into Dean's general direction than at the oldest Winchester directly.

"Anything other than that!" Dean yelled, not caring if Sam, Becky, or any of their neighbors heard every word he had to say, "How about 'I'm going to smite the bitch for doing this to you?'"

The former archangel's shoulders slumped, his expression becoming even more vacant.

"Dean," Adam exclaimed in a warning tone. His oldest brother was opening a can of worms he most likely wouldn't want to deal with and Adam could see it coming. Not that he expected Dean to listen to him for once and stop yelling before they reached the point of no return.

"What happened to all the righteous fury soon as somebody lays a finger on Sam? Guess you're just not..." Dean continued his rant, disregarding his youngest brother's warning.

Gabriel could hardly hear what Dean was saying over the sound of his own heart beating. The former archangel couldn't form a fitting reply with the big lump in his throat. He didn't know what to do, when clearly there was nothing he could do anymore. So Gabriel did the only thing that came to him naturally and that worked that moment. He ran.

"Well done, jerk!" Adam punched Dean in the shoulder before he sprinted after Gabriel.


	8. Chapter 8

**7**

 

Adam could swear he lost Gabriel for less than five minutes, but when he found the former archangel again he was already seated in the darkest corner of some shady bar with a bottle of tequila. Why was it that everyone around Adam was constantly trying to drown their sorrows in alcohol? Not that the youngest Winchester planned to lose a word about it in this case.

Gabriel didn't say anything or even look up as Adam took a seat across from him. What was there to say? Gabriel knew what Adam would say, but he didn't want to hear it. The former archangel knew that this wasn't like him. Dean was right in that regard. Where was the righteous fury?

"Look, I get it..." Adam stated after a couple moments of silence.

"Do you?" Gabriel mumbled, pouring himself another shot. The former archangel didn't say that he'd gladly listen to Adam explain the whole situation to him as if he really understood it, because Gabriel sure as hell didn't. The former archangel realized he should have felt angry. He should have had the urge to take Becky apart limb by limb or sic some slow dancing aliens on her ass in the very least. However the truth was, those thoughts crossed Gabriel's mind, but he didn't know if he would be doing Sam a favor with it.

"I won't say I understand exactly what you're going through," Adam admitted. The youngest Winchester knew what typical teenage heartbreak was like. The kind that hurt like hell for a while and then went away when the next crush appeared. He wouldn't pretend he knew what it felt like to see the person you were willing to die for, with a crazy groupie. Adam only needed to look at the state Gabriel was in to get a pretty good idea about how bad it felt though.

Gabriel downed two shots of tequila in quick succession. Adam's words brought forth the mental picture of Sam saying basically the same just a couple days ago to the forefront of Gabriel's mind. Everything was still okay then. At least Gabriel thought everything was still okay then.

"It's just... this is not productive and won't get us... won't get _you_ anywhere," Adam added when Gabriel didn't say anything. The youngest Winchester was still sure that Sam was under some sort of spell –or something magically related- they had to free him from. Even if simply seeing his life partner hadn't broken the spell, that didn't mean Gabriel couldn't still help.

"It's over," the former archangel sighed deeply, still not looking at the youngest Winchester.

"You're not telling me you really believe..." Adam huffed. Gabriel being overwhelmed by the whole situation was one thing, but if the former archangel seriously believed that Sam had suddenly changed his mind and randomly loved Becky now... Gabriel couldn't seriously believe that! That kind of behavior was completely uncharacteristic of Sam. If Adam knew it without a doubt, then Gabriel just had to realize it.

"He looked happy, didn't he?" Gabriel asked, both his tone and entire body language speaking of resignation.

"Sam looked happy when you guys picked me up and you two were acting like lovesick teenagers," Adam insisted, resisting the urge to just grab Gabriel and shake him. The youngest Winchester might still have to shake the shorter man within an inch of his life though, if the former archangel kept talking like he actually believed Sam was acting out of his own free will.

"I thought... I thought we could make it..." Gabriel whispered, playing with his empty glass before pouring himself another shot. Losing his powers rendered the former archangel essentially useless. He went from protector to the one needing protection. Gabriel had thought if he didn't make a big deal out of it, maybe Sam would not see just how far he had fallen. Of course, Sam had seen through him right from the start...

"Are you even listening to yourself, man?" Adam asked with a deep groan. Adam had been out of high school for a while, but he remembered the pity parties his peers used to throw themselves regularly. The youngest Winchester's patience for this kind of crap had been limited even back then and that had not changed in the time since. Pity parties didn't do anything other than hinder any kind of process one might have made in the time they spent pitying yourself!

"I thought... I could still be... enough," Gabriel mumbled, hiding his face in his hands. The former archangel felt dangerously close to crying. He didn't even know why he didn't just let the tears out. It wasn't like there was anybody he had to be strong for anymore.

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you?" Adam sighed. The youngest Winchester couldn't help the horrible thought that he'd have to get used to nobody giving a damn about what he had to say in this family. Gabriel admittedly was in a special situation, so he had a better excuse for not listening than Dean ever had, but it was still annoying.

"Should've seen it coming," Gabriel sighed, reaching for his tequila bottle again.

"Woah, wait a second, what are you talking about?" Adam asked, raising his voice to make sure Gabriel didn't ignore his question. The former archangel might just have said something that would explain why Gabriel was just tolerating the fact Sam was married to somebody else now. Maybe finding out why the shorter man was so accepting of that fact was a part of the solution to the bigger problem. At least Adam might find out what he had to do to get Gabriel on board with the rescue mission.

"It's... broken," Gabriel answered, fishing the amulet -which he hadn't once stopped wearing ever since he gifted the second one to Sam- out from under his shirt, "The connection, it's not there anymore."

"Okay, maybe that's part of the curse..." Adam suggested reasonably.

"No!" Gabriel nearly yelled in frustration, banging his fists on the table, "It's been gone this entire time!"

The former archangel didn't notice at first. He was too happy to be alive and with Sam to pay much attention to it. Hell, he was with Sam the entire time, so he never missed feeling his partner's presence. Gabriel first realized something was off when Sam and Dean went on the hunt for those ghouls and the former archangel was left behind. It took some time, but finally Gabriel realized that he had no clue if Sam was even still alive, something he should have felt as clear as day over their connection.

Of course, the amulets had established a connection between Gabriel's grace and Sam's soul, one of which didn't exist in that form anymore. Still, the former archangel thought it shouldn't affect the connection, if nothing about their feelings for each other had changed.

It had been easy to ignore the worries that had set in when Sam came back and didn't act any differently than before. It was not so easy to ignore when Gabriel was at Chuck's and impossible to ignore now.

"I thought we could..." Gabriel started, before he stopped himself with a drawn out sigh, "Doesn't matter now."

Apparently, his father really had a cruel sense of humor, the former archangel thought. Gabriel wanted to know if Sam would be okay and God told him not to worry. Sam was okay now, wasn't he? The cruel truth was that Sam was okay without Gabriel though.

"I think you've had..." Adam said as Gabriel reached for his bottle once more, but stopped when he saw the former archangel's watery eyes, "O-kay, I didn't say anything."

 

* * *

 

 

Michael looked up from the magazine he was leafing through when there was a short knock on his door. The former archangel never managed to say the appropriate 'come in' before Hope quickly entered his room and closed the door behind herself, careful not to make any additional sounds.

"So, there's a party tonight," the young woman stated with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Sharing her everyday family life with Michael was one thing and they had done more than enough of that. However, there was more to Hope's life and she was willing to share the other aspects too.

"I think I've heard of that," Michael stated thoughtfully, before he put his magazine aside and met Hope's eyes, "When your uncle told you not to go."

The former archangel wasn't sure if Hope thought he had forgotten the discussion between her and her uncle earlier that day or if she hoped he would ignore it, but she was sorely mistaken either way.

"Free life lesson, Michael," Hope sighed deeply, before she stepped close enough to put a hand on his shoulder, "We're adults, so we can do whatever the hell we want. We just have to be prepared to take the consequences."

Hope's system worked pretty well for her usually. There were a lot of things she would never consider doing, simply because the possible consequences were unbearable and then there were things that were worth it. In this case she could bow to her uncle's wishes, miss the party and regret it. She could also break the rules, go to the party and take the stern talking to she would get if they found out. Hope was willing and prepared to take that kind of trouble, if she could go out and have some fun in return.

"I don't like the sound of that," Michael frowned deeply. The former archangel had to admit that he could see the sense of Hope's statement, he still didn't like it. In fact, it sounded like something Lucifer might have said. Michael doubted that his younger brother really had been prepared for the consequences of his actions...

"Fine," Hope shrugged, ruffling Michael's hair just to rile him up a little which as per usual didn't work at all it seemed, "Don't say I didn't invite you."

The young woman opened the window in Michael's room under the bewildered gaze of the former archangel. The guest room Michael was staying in was on the first floor, overlooking the backyard. It was nice, mostly quiet and there was a cool breeze in the evenings usually. None of that told the former archangel why Hope was so interested in the window.

"What are you...?" Michael started to ask, before realization dawned on him and he exclaimed, "Hope!"

"Shh, the point of sneaking out is not to be caught," Hope whispered, holding a finger to her lips as she swung one of her legs out of the window, "See you later!"

Michael stood next to the window dumbfounded for a few long moments. What was he supposed to do? Hope was obviously hell-bent on going through with this breach of the rules. Technically, nobody told Michael not to go to that party she had spoken of, but the former archangel thought it was implied that nobody in the house was allowed to go. Then again, Michael didn't want Hope to go alone. Who knew why exactly Gregory forbade it? The minister might very well have seen some risk in it that Hope wasn't seeing or disregarding completely.

Michael realized that he had three options. He could do nothing, which didn't sound appealing at all. He could alert Hope's aunt and uncle to what was going on, which in turn would upset the young woman. He could also go after Hope himself and maybe even get her to return before 10 p.m. which meant there would be at least one less rule broken.

The former archangel sighed deeply, before he climbed out of the window after her.

"You're far too good at this for somebody who presumably never climbed out of windows behind their parents' backs before," Hope commented when Michael came sprinting after her before she even managed to get out of the backyard. The young woman took a moment to smile at the former archangel before she stated seriously, "I'm not turning back."

"I didn't think you would," Michael replied honestly. The former archangel thought he knew Hope well enough to understand that she would not turn back before they reached the party, but he might convince her to return before more rules were broken and the consequences became worse.

"I don't need a bodyguard," Hope stated, giving Michael a challenging look, "Or a chaperone."

"You asked me to come," Michael retorted, raising an eyebrow at the young woman. Granted, making sure that Hope was safe was one of the reasons why Michael decided to go after her in the first place, but her invitation had never been revoked. The former archangel believed that Hope asked him to come with her for a reason, just like he believed Gregory had forbidden it for a reason. Michael might not fully understand their reasoning, but he made his own decision and he would stick with it.

"As a friend, to have fun," Hope clarified, her tone softening. The young woman knew it couldn't be easy for Michael to get even this far in their little escape from the house for the evening, so she wouldn't tell him to turn back now that he took the first steps. Besides, she really wanted him to come along. Hope doubted she was in for a wild evening with a companion like Michael, but strangely enough that wasn't what she wanted anyway. She'd be happy to just go out and have -mostly- innocent fun.

"Duly noted," Michael replied seriously, offering his arm just as they made it out of the backyard.

"You're such an alien," Hope laughed, linking her arm with his, "But I think I like it."

 

* * *

 

 

"Little help here?" Adam asked, as he finally managed to get the motel room door unlocked and opened. It wasn't easy to move with the nearly dead weight of a completely drunk and halfway passed out Gabriel hanging off him. The youngest Winchester hadn't been able to keep the former archangel from drinking by far too much -not that he tried too hard- but he could always bring him back to the motel safely. At least that's what Adam thought before he had to half carry, half drag Gabriel through town.

"Looks to me like you're doing fine," Dean commented in a flippant tone that wasn't completely heartfelt, as he took in the sight his youngest brother and the former archangel made, "What the hell happened to him?"

"What do you think?" Adam snarked, trying to maneuver Gabriel to his bed to get him settled. The former archangel should be out like a light for some time, which probably was for the best; as long as he wasn't unlucky enough to have alcohol induced nightmares. "Tried to drown his sorrows and found out tequila is not his friend on top of everything else."

Dean nodded, pulling the blanket off Adam's bed before his youngest brother got Gabriel to lie down in it. In Dean's experience a warm blanket was always welcome once the alcohol started to wear off a little. The oldest Winchester would leave it to Adam to actually cover the man with it though."Man, when it rains it pours..."

Adam groaned his agreement once he was done getting Gabriel settled. Granted, it had been Adam's idea to call Gabriel and get him involved in this, but instead of one person acting like they were out of their mind they had two on their hands now.

"Okay, listen, Gabriel mentioned something earlier," Adam stated once he caught his breath a little, "He said he basically brought it upon himself, because he was the one to take Chuck away from Becky."

"What? Are we blaming karma for this mess now?" Dean frowned deeply. Sure, if Chuck and Becky were still an item, Becky most likely wouldn't have had to do... whatever it was she did to Sam. It might look like cosmic justice to some that Gabriel, who hid Chuck away and broke up the relationship with it, got his lover stolen away by Becky now. However, where was the justice in Sam having to be Becky's husband all of a sudden? That part was still unacceptable.

"We've gone about this from the wrong end," Adam explained, fighting the urge to roll his eyes because of his oldest brother's inability to make the obvious connection, "Sam's under a spell and can't react to Gabriel like he usually would, but Becky... If Becky still has any feelings for Chuck..."

The corner of Dean's mouth twitched as realization set in. Adam had a pretty good and solid idea there, the oldest Winchester had to admit. "Then Chuck's the one we should've brought in."


	9. Chapter 9

**8**

 

Dean and Adam didn't know it, but they both had the same thought after the first couple of minutes with Garth Fitzgerald the fourth. To be exact, both brothers came to the spontaneous conclusion that the Tooth Fairy must have died laughing.

"We're going to get your brother back," Garth proclaimed emphatically, after they finished exchanging their basic stories of what brought them on the case. The hunter could tell that both Winchesters were worried about their brother, so they could use some uplifting words. Actually, there was a better way to show support...

"First you're going to stop hugging me, or I swear..." Dean stated in a dangerously low tone. Garth was lucky to release Dean just a second before the oldest Winchester could throw his punch. Dean glared at Adam when the brat grinned, not even trying to hide his amusement. "Though, I think Adam could use a hug."

"I think Dean could use a punch," Adam commented seriously, as he eyed Garth warily. The hunter didn't look too tempted to actually hug the youngest Winchester, but you never knew with hunters. Granted, a sudden hug attack wasn't what Adam usually thought he had to be prepared for with hunters, but this case clearly was special.

"I always imagined you guys being nicer," Garth frowned, looking between the brothers. It was basically impossible to be a hunter for longer than a few months without ever hearing of the Winchesters; at least if you had any contact with other hunters. Garth heard all the stories and he knew Bobby considered the Winchesters family. The hunter knew the brothers had to be bad-asses to survive as long as they did, but he still thought they'd be more civil.

"This _is_ us being nice," Adam deadpanned.

"Have you ever considered talk therapy? It's no shame to..." Garth suggested with an encouraging smile.

"Right, back to the case," Dean interrupted the other hunter before the urge to punch the man became overwhelming. It wasn't like they absolutely needed Garth's contribution, but it could make things easier and Bobby might be annoyed if they hurt one of his contacts. "We have an idea of how to get Sam away from Becky, but it'd be good to have a general idea of what we're even dealing with here. So, fill us in, what's the bigger picture?"

There still were a number of options of how Becky had gotten Sam to marry her in the first place. Dean thought it would be good to know if their case was definitely connected to the suspicious deaths and if they were connected they really could use an update on how that case was going. The oldest Winchester hadn't exactly paid those other people much thought with everything that was going on. It was Garth's chance to prove that Bobby's trust in him was warranted.

"Demon deals," Garth replied matter-of-factly.

"Demon deals?" Dean groaned. The oldest Winchester had hoped for something witch related, even though he normally hated dealing with them. Witches were crazy and really messy to deal with since they were still technically humans, but demon deals were definitely worse. Not to mention that it would be pretty damn hard to get Sam out of Becky's clutches if her deal involved having Sam as her husband. If it turned out to be that way Dean would call in Cas. The blue-eyed seraph would know what to do. Actually, Dean would have called Castiel already, if the last thing he heard from his angelic friend hadn't been that he and Balthazar were encountering some problems in heaven and were up to their necks in negotiations.

"With the timers set all wrong," Garth elaborated. The messed up timeline was what made it so hard to figure out that they were dealing with demons at first, but after some digging and saving the wife of a newly promoted banker he finally got the information he needed. "They die days after making their deals instead of years."

"Wow, I knew Becky was stupid, but this..." Dean snorted, "Okay, no, going after Sam in the first place takes the cake, but this is a close second."

Seriously, how could someone who knew that Chuck's damned books were heavily based on reality believe that making a deal with a demon was anything other than a fucking stupid idea? Not that Dean would feel too bad if Becky went to hell for what she had done. So maybe Dean was feeling a little vengeful, sue him!

"So we call in Chuck, hope he gets Becky to spill the beans, get Sam and Gabriel back together... easy as pie," Adam commented sarcastically. Their to-do list hadn't gotten any shorter and the items on it were becoming increasingly hard to accomplish.

"You might be a little too optimistic," Garth replied with an apologetic shrug. The hunter believed that they were going to solve this case and get Sam back to his family, but it would be a hard and maybe lengthy process. The youngest Winchester should be prepared for that.

"I was being sarcastic," Adam clarified, trying and failing to keep the snark out of his tone.

"It's his default setting," Dean explained with a shrug, stepping aside just in time to avoid a punch to the shoulder.

The two Winchesters went back into the motel room a couple minutes later. Garth agreed to stock up on all things they could use against demons then meet them at Becky's later. All that was left to do was to call in Chuck and hope it would go better than calling in Gabriel did.

Speaking of the former archangel...

"Dammit Dean!" Adam groaned in annoyance. Maybe Garth was right, they probably could use some therapy, in combination with a couple AA meetings. It looked like Gabriel fit right in with their family in that regard.

"What? How was I supposed to know this would happen?" Dean exclaimed, putting as much righteous indignation as he could into his voice. Of course, the oldest Winchester got his hunter's helper inside when he brought the rest of the gear. How was it Dean's fault if Gabriel woke up and decided he really needed to drink himself back into oblivion once again while they were gone?

"You usually know everything, don't you jerk?"

"Shut it, twerp."

 

* * *

 

 

"We're friends, right?" Gracie asked, putting her homework aside.

Lucifer looked at the little abomination like she had grown a second head for a good minute, before he sighed deeply and gave a tight nod. There was no description that fit their strange relationship better, at least none Lucifer could come up with on the spot. The former archangel might have thought of the girl as some sort of pet for a while, but that didn't quite cut it anymore. At least, it wasn't like Grace would walk around advertising the fact that the devil just admitted to being her friend.

"So... what's your name?" Gracie asked, chewing on her lower lip nervously. Her angel didn't always react to her questions positively and he never offered to tell her his name, so it was doubtful he would want to tell her now.

Lucifer never realized how glad he was that Grace was content thinking of him as 'the angel' until the moment she wanted to know his name. The former archangel wasn't sure if Grace would connect his name to the devil immediately, but even if she didn't all she needed was a quick search on that internet thing or to mention the name around the wrong people. The thought that Grace might decide she wanted nothing to do with him or that she might start to fear him bothered Lucifer far more than he was willing to admit.

Instead the former archangel laid back and pulled the blanket over his body, as he proclaimed, "I need to rest."

"You're too sleepy to tell me your name?" Gracie frowned deeply. Her angel was often tired lately and she agreed that he needed a lot of rest to get better, but saying a name wasn't strenuous and only took a second. He could just say the word and then fall asleep immediately. Actually, he could have said the name in the time it took him to say he was tired!

"Shh, I'm trying to sleep here," Lucifer muttered, before he closed his eyes demonstratively. The former archangel realized he would have to come up with a name he could give the kid soon, but he needed time to think matters through. Realistically, he could just pretend to be some other angel, one that would come up as a good guy in case Grace wanted to research. Somehow the thought of lying to the little girl bothered Lucifer nearly as much as thinking of what might happen if he gave himself away.

"Is it a stupid name?" Gracie asked after a moment of silence. It seemed like a logical conclusion to the girl. She sure wouldn't like telling anybody her name if it was something stupid like Mildred.

"How dare you...?" Lucifer automatically replied, as his eyes snapped open again. The former archangel realized belatedly that the kid had given him a possible out by saying that his name was in fact too stupid to share, but it was doubtful if Lucifer's pride would have allowed him to falsely admit to something like that in the first place.

"So, what is it?" Gracie retorted with a smug grin.

"Lucifer," Lucifer groaned, preparing himself for all sorts of different reactions. The one he got surprised the former archangel, but looking at how their interaction usually went he shouldn't have been shocked. "What's so funny?"

"Lucy," Gracie managed to say between giggles.

"Oh very funny," Lucifer groaned, trying to give the still giggling girl a disapproving stare. To tell the truth, the former archangel was too relieved by the -rather- positive reaction to be too annoyed about the defacing of his name.

"I like it," Gracie concluded once she managed to get a grip on herself.

Lucifer shook his head over the little abomination's antics, but he couldn't help smiling all the same.

 

* * *

 

 

"Look Pete, I'm here with someone tonight," Hope stated vehemently, trying to keep her distance from the young man who was trying to chat her up once more. Granted, she had played along with his flirting at other occasions, but tonight was different. Hope only wanted to get them something to drink -nonalcoholic at Michael's insistence- and return to her companion.

Actually, it turned out going to a party had been a bad idea in the first place. The music was too loud to allow for any real conversation. In all honesty, Hope would have preferred to simply have some alone time with Michael to get to know him better.

"The buzz kill over there? What do you want with him?" Pete replied, looking nearly shocked. He had met Hope often enough to know she was always up for another party and some fun -of all different kinds- but the dark-haired guy she said she was with just stood by the wall looking uncomfortable. Hope obviously couldn't be serious about that.

Hope opened her mouth to tell Pete that Michael was by far more interesting than Pete could ever hope to be. However, all that came out of her mouth was an undignified squeak when Pete wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close surprisingly though. Hope couldn't elbow the bastard in the ribs or do anything else that would be effective with the way he was holding her in that moment, but it was only a matter of time until he had to change his grip. Pete was in for a world of hurt as soon as Hope could knee him in the family jewels.

Before Hope could make any of the scenarios going through her mind reality, Pete let go of her just as suddenly as he grabbed her. Hope whirled around to at least slap the man, when she realized why Pete set her free in the first place.

Michael had a tight grip on Pete's arms, only releasing the man when he was sure Hope was out of his range. The former archangel planned to tell the other man in no uncertain terms that this was no way to treat a woman, or anybody really. The fist that connected with the corner of Michael's mouth prevented that from happening though. In fact, the former archangel was too surprised to do anything other than stare for a moment. Pete got ready to strike again, but Michael acted on instinct and punched him first.

The former archangel was glad that people dragged Pete away nearly instantly. Michael doubted the other man would have been smart enough to stop by himself, but this gave him and Hope the opportunity to leave in peace. It didn't look like the young woman would put up any resistance.

"On the positive side, we are going to be back before curfew," Michael stated after they walked in silence for a while. The corner of Michael's mouth and -strangely enough- the former archangel's knuckles hurt, but he couldn't help smiling. Michael didn't think he wanted to repeat this particular experience if he could help it, but it had been an experience for sure.

"One less rule broken," Hope replied with a small smile, before she added in a regretful tone, "We might even have time to put some ice on that before ten."

"I think I would like that," Michael nodded seriously.

Silence fell between them once more, but it didn't feel nearly as uncomfortable as before. They were already within eyeshot of the house before Hope spoke again.

"So, you're good at climbing out of windows and fistfights," the young woman stated with a crooked smile, "That doesn't fit with the... goody two shoes, boy next door image you have going on."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," Michael shrugged. The former archangel stopped walking just a couple steps before they reached the entrance door. Next to him Hope stopped as well and turned to look at him directly.

"Will you tell me some day?" Hope asked in a whisper, leaning closer to Michael.

The former archangel smiled as he took Hope's hand. Michael was about to tell her that he would like that very much, when suddenly the porch light went on and the door was opened. The thought that his split lip and darkening bruise would be hard to explain occurred to Michael before, but it seemed like they wouldn't have to come up with an excuse after all.

 

* * *

 

 

"We've had this conversation," Dean stated in a lecturing tone he knew would annoy Adam. What the oldest Winchester had to say was the truth and despite how little his youngest brother might like it; he'd have to acknowledge it. "You don't want anything to do with hunting. Fine with me, but you have to be consistent with it. Anything that involves demons is a no go for you."

Adam immediately opened his mouth to object, but didn't even get a tone out before he closed it again. There really was no way the youngest Winchester could argue with what his oldest brother had said. Adam wanted out and getting involved with the actual hunting part of the case wouldn't help him in achieving that. "I hate it when you're right."

"What about me? I want nothing to do with hunting..." Chuck muttered. The prophet finally got his explanation of what was going on after Adam called again and Tarot transported Chuck to Pike Creek. Wanting an explanation didn't mean that Chuck wanted to get involved though! Granted, it was about Becky and the prophet wanted to talk to her and help with that part, but he really wanted nothing to do with any demons.

"Hey, one of the monsters we're up against is your ex. Nobody cares what you want, you're coming with," Dean stated, grabbing the prophet by the shoulder shoulder. They were going to meet Garth in front of Becky's in a couple of minutes and Chuck was coming with. The oldest Winchester had no intentions of getting the prophet anywhere close to the line of fire, but he couldn't make promises as they still didn't know the full story.

Adam exhaled soundly once Dean and Chuck were gone. The youngest Winchester wanted nothing to do with hunting, but hanging back in times like these was pretty damn hard. Tarot hadn't spoken and had hardly moved since he brought Chuck in. The angel obviously didn't know what to do with himself any more than Adam did.

"You don't have to hang around here, if it makes you uncomfortable," Adam told Tarot with a small smile. His friend was clearly twitchy and nervous. Adam wasn't completely convinced it was only because of the new surroundings, but if Tarot would feel better back in Celebration he should go. However, Adam was glad his friend was with him that moment. Having Tarot around gave Adam some semblance of normalcy and was exactly what he needed to figure out where to go from here.

"I... don't want to... to go home alone," Tarot answered, though he sounded a little unsure. The sandy-haired seraph didn't see what he could or should do to help, so his presence really wasn't needed. At the same time, Tarot didn't want to leave Adam alone with a sleeping Gabriel in a town where at least one demon was on the loose. Besides, as much as the angel liked their house in Celebration, it wasn't a home without Chuck and Adam.

"Fair enough," Adam replied smiling at his friend. It was obvious that Tarot needed something to keep himself occupied as much as Adam did, so the youngest Winchester added, "I think that clock's a little off."

Tarot nodded and went to take the clock off the wall to take a closer look at it as Adam approached Gabriel. The former archangel couldn't be too comfortable sleeping fully clothed like that. Maybe Adam should have thought of it earlier, but even though his wish to help was strong, he wouldn't have suggested getting Gabriel more comfortable by removing clothing while Dean was around.

The former archangel only made a few unintelligible noises while Adam rid him of his shoes, jacket and jeans. The youngest Winchester covered Gabriel with the blanket and went to put the removed clothes over the back of a chair when the former archangel's wallet fell out of his pocket. Adam only meant to pick it up and put the wallet back where it belonged, but Gabriel's ID fell out, so the youngest Winchester figured there wasn't any harm in taking a look.

Apparently, Chuck had a bigger family than he realized. Going by the documents Gabriel made for Adam and Tarot, they both were Chuck's cousins. The former archangel's ID clearly said Gabriel Shurley, making him another member of the prophet's family. Adam shook his head as he smiled and opened the wallet to put the ID back inside when his eyes fell on a second ID with a different last name.

"Dammit, Gabriel," Adam sighed. Apparently, there was a second family the former archangel longed to be a part of. The only reason the youngest Winchester could come up with for the dual identities Gabriel had going was that the former archangel wasn't completely sure he'd be accepted. Gabriel Winchester had a nice ring to it, though.


	10. Chapter 10

**9**

 

The drive to Becky's apartment wasn't nearly long enough for Chuck to decide what he wanted to say to his ex-girlfriend. It didn't help that the prophet always had trouble performing well under pressure. The whole thing about him having to convince Becky to release Sam was totally not adding pressure to the already stressful situation of having to face the woman he broke up with over a text message. Actually, Chuck thought he should apologize for that part and try to explain why he had to disappear like he did. Then again, starting with an apology when he was supposed to be demanding might not work too well.

The prophet decided to channel the annoyance -not to say jealousy- he felt over being replaced with Sam. It was not exactly a secret that Becky always had a thing for the younger Winchester -to put it mildly- but she had chosen to stop pursuing Sam when she chose to be with Chuck. For Becky to go back to her old ways now -only more extreme- felt like a betrayal, even if Chuck admittedly made mistakes too. That kind of righteous indignation might leave more of an impression and get Becky to talk.

In the end, the moment Dean knocked loudly on the front door came all too fast and Chuck was faced with the woman he had strong feelings for not too long ago, but all he could do was stammer, "Becky... I... uh..."

"Chuck," Becky squeaked, holding on to the door. She felt like the floor was giving way under her feet. To say that Becky had a bad day would be an understatement. Just a day ago Becky thought she was happy. She was married to the man she loved, what was there not to love about that? Then Dean and Adam brought in Gabriel...

"And Garth, pleased to meet you," Garth introduced himself, offering his hand for shaking. The woman didn't know him, so it felt like common courtesy to make an introduction. Apparently, Becky was too focused on Chuck to even notice him though.

The prophet cleared his throat awkwardly, trying and failing to look stern. As it turned out, the best Chuck could do under the circumstances was to sound helpless and a little whiny. Not to mention that his indecision about what he actually wanted to say was seriously messing with his ability to form full sentences. "I... uh... I had to... I'm sorry for... but did you have to...?"

After Adam, Dean and Gabriel had left, Sam explained to Becky that he was with Gabriel right up to the point when he met Becky again in Las Vegas. All the younger Winchester's reassurances that he really loved her did nothing to wash the sour taste out of Becky's mouth. It was the first time she could just not make-believe that he actually meant it. In a way, it was like scales fell from her eyes and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to go back to seeing things the way she had before.

"I'm so sorry!" Becky exclaimed as she threw her arms around Chuck's neck, surprising everyone.

Dean's urge to strangle Becky didn't recede exactly, but at least it looked like they were off to a promising start. The oldest Winchester still felt that it would have been most satisfying if Becky turned out to be a witch that needed ganking.

 

* * *

 

 

Michael couldn't help noticing that between him and Hope, he was the one who looked more repentant and nervous. Then again for all the former archangel knew, Hope was accustomed to getting in trouble, while Michael couldn't remember the last time an authority figure gave him a stern talking to. It helped that for thousands of years Michael was the highest authority around and even if he had disagreements with Raphael, it was Michael who had the last word and the power to make the final decision.

That moment, standing in the middle of the living room with a clearly disappointed and angry minister and his worried wife looking at Michael and Hope, the former archangel felt reminded of a time long past when his father would tell him to watch out for his brothers and be responsible.

"I expected better of you," Gregory sighed, clearly addressing Michael much to the former archangel's confusion. If anything, the minister should expect better of his niece. Michael still was practically a stranger to them -especially since he had not spoken of his past- so he should be the one bad things were expected from.

"Oh right, 'cause we all just knew I was going to sneak out again," Hope retorted, crossing her arms in front of her chest. The fact she had done exactly that didn't make it any less hurtful that messing up was practically expected of her. Granted, Hope brought it upon herself and she realized it, but to hear this clearly that they expected better of somebody else added a whole new layer of hurt.

"Don't act like I'm wronging you, Hope!" Gregory stated in a warning tone. He wasn't going to allow his niece to turn this around on him, especially not this time. It was bad enough that Hope had the habit of doing all sorts of things behind their backs, but it was the first time somebody got hurt because of it.

"You'll be happy to hear Michael had nothing to do with it," Hope replied acidly, before she looked at Michael and softened her tone a little. It wasn't his fault they were in trouble or his fault her uncle had a bad opinion of her. All of that was Hope's fault and she wasn't going to let Michael pay for it. "He just went after me to protect me."

"So not only did you break the rules once again, you also dragged someone else in with you and got them hurt," Gregory summed up what he just heard, before he added sarcastically, "I'm really happy to hear that."

Hope's aunt generally wasn't a woman of many words. Linda gladly left most of the talking to Gregory. Her husband was good at finding the right words. However, sometimes he spoke too rashly, especially when it came to Hope. "Gregory..."

"Sir..." Michael tried to speak up at the same time Hope's aunt did. It wasn't Hope's fault that Michael had gotten a split lip and a bruise. She hadn't asked for the creep to touch her or for Michael to intervene. It was the former archangel's decision to get into the line of fire and he would gladly do it again.

"Maybe if you'd just treat me like an adult for a change..." Hope sighed, not quite meeting her uncle's eyes. Maybe if Hope actually had the freedom to make her own decisions, she wouldn't feel like she had to prove she could handle herself quite so often.

"I'll treat you like an adult when you stop acting like a reckless teenager," Gregory retorted, "I swear, you're just like..."

Linda inhaled sharply. Her husband didn't finish his statement, but the damage was done anyway. Hope rushed out of the room and up the stairs, throwing the door closed behind her with enough force to make the windows vibrate.

 

* * *

 

 

The oldest Winchester thought he was going to punch something -or someone- if he heard one more 'It's okay, honey. I still love you.' out of his younger brother's mouth. Dean realized it wasn't Sam's fault, but the way his brother was acting was grating on Dean's nerves in ways not even Adam managed all too frequently.

Becky's story about how she made a habit of going to Vegas the same time the Winchesters traditionally had their Vegas Week in the books did nothing to lessen Dean's annoyance either. It was sort of believable that the woman didn't even really expect to run into Sam at all, but Dean didn't feel like giving Becky credit for anything when right after she admitted that some 'friendly neighborhood warlock' gave her a love potion to use on any guy who struck her fancy. Becky either was the most naive or stupid person on this planet -or quite possibly both- because she had the nerve to claim the potion was only supposed to bring out hidden feelings and she really thought Sam was secretly in love with her; up until she met Gabriel. Apparently, Becky gave Sam the last dose of the potion just before their last visit, so the effects would last another while.

"It's okay, honey. I still love you," Sam stated sincerely, putting his hands on Becky's shoulders to comfort her. Some part of the younger Winchester realized he should be upset, but he couldn't bring himself to be.

"Okay, that's it!" Dean growled out as he punched the right side of Sam's face. It wasn't exactly a hard punch, but it was hard enough to make the older Winchester feel momentarily better. Of course Sam wasn't the one Dean really wanted to hit, but he couldn't punch a woman in the face when there was nothing demonic or monstrous involved. Besides, once Sam was himself again, he'd probably feel like slapping himself repeatedly in the face until all the horrible recollections of being a sap left him, so Dean had only done what Sam would inevitably do.

"Dean," Sam exclaimed, clearly surprised and shocked by what his older brother had done, "What was that for?"

Chuck and Garth exchanged glances, but the time to do something had already passed. It didn't look like Dean was about to punch Sam again. Garth made a mental note to recommend a couple of anti-stress and aggression books to the oldest Winchester though. As strange as it might sound coming from a hunter, violence wasn't the solution.

"Ask me again in a couple of hours," Dean replied with a shrug, before he turned to Becky and demanded, "And in the meantime, you're going to call that Guy guy and tell him you need more of that love potion and a way to make the effects permanent."

It was good to know that Sam would be back to normal in a couple of hours, but there was still a crossroads demon on the loose they had to take care of. Dean refused to leave this town until he had killed something!

 

* * *

 

 

Crowley was in the middle of inspecting the new special places in hell he had come up with. Fire and brimstone, whips and chains, the classic racks... all of that was well and good, but it simply didn't work on everyone. There were more new arrivals than one might think who actually asked for more with a smile. People were just sick. Not to mention there was only so long physical torture was really effective before it became routine and the recipient grew used to it.

Waiting in an endless line in a hallway that didn't provide any distractions on the other hand was something that became worse the longer it lasted. Not to mention that nobody knew what was waiting at the end of the hallway. Even if the first time they stepped through the door only brought them back to the end of the line again, they didn't know if the second time would have the same outcome. The truth was that there was always the possibility that the next time they reached the door there would be a rack on the other side.

Crowley also was quite fond of the courtroom where people had to present their case and plead for a chance to go to heaven after all. Not that any of them had a chance to succeed. As an added bonus, their clothes tended to randomly disappear while they attempted to make speeches to a jury of demons. In fact, Crowley liked to play judge every now and then. It was an amusing pastime whenever his kingly duties were not enough to keep him busy.

"Your highness..." demonic moron number two thousand three hundred fifteen -plus/minus fifty- spoke up cautiously. The demon realized that their new king had quite the temper when he felt someone was disturbing him. However, it didn't look like Crowley was doing anything important and what the demon had to say should be of great interest to him.

"Word of advice from your benevolent king: if you have bad news to tell," Crowley started in a calm tone as he slowly turned around, just to raise his voice dramatically as he finished, "Just. Spit. It. Out!"

The demon tried not to let the wince show, but Crowley's smirk told him that he hadn't succeeded. Straightening himself the demon held out a small stack of papers for the king to take.

"We... have word of the Winchesters..."

 

* * *

 

 

Not knowing what he was supposed to do was a feeling Michael was slowly getting accustomed to. That was not to say he liked it, but it wasn't exactly new anymore. The former archangel had some hope that these things would get easier with time though. At least Michael thought he managed to make some progress.

Somehow, it had not even been a hard decision to go after Hope. Michael had to make sure the young woman was okay, everything else simply felt wrong.

"Why does it always have to be 'You're just like your father?'," Hope mumbled, keeping her eyes fixed on her hands.

The former archangel kept standing in front of the young woman, looking awkward. Usually Hope would tell him to just sit down already, but that moment she had other things on her mind than getting Michael to act a little less like an alien.

"Why can't it just be me doing stupid shit?" Hope asked after a few long moments of silence, finally meeting Michael's eyes.

"Would that... be preferable?" Michael replied with a deep frown. Something about what Hope said struck a chord with the former archangel, but he couldn't investigate the feeling further at that moment. Hope was clearly distraught. This wasn't the time to start sorting through Michael's own daddy issues.

"Yes," Hope answered without missing a beat.

"Why?" Michael asked, his frown deepening even further. The feeling that he didn't completely understand Hope was not new to Michael, but he really couldn't follow this time.

"Because... because then at least I'd write my own story," Hope tried to explain. The young woman never put her thoughts on this particular matter into words before, so she wasn't sure she could get Michael to really understand what she wanted to tell him. "A lot of people make mistakes all the time, but they come out the other side okay in the end. Why does the end of _my_ story have to be a foregone conclusion?"

"I don't understand," Michael admitted, though he again felt like what Hope said might as well apply to him. It was highly unlikely that the foregone conclusion in Hope's case was an apocalyptic fight between two brothers that would inevitably destroy either half or all of the world, but Michael didn't doubt that whatever Hope was talking about was just as bad to her personally.

"That's going to take longer than five minutes," Hope stated after a quick glance toward the clock. It was nearly ten o'clock and she was not going to start this conversation just to have Michael walk out on her when the clock struck ten. She wouldn't expect the former archangel to break more rules for her that day though, even if it was just about bedtime.

"On a day like this, what's one more broken rule?" Michael shrugged as casually as he could. The former archangel finally sat next to Hope on her bed. He didn't think the conversation that would follow should be had while towering over her.

"Are you sure I'm having a _good_ influence on you?" Hope chuckled humorlessly, as she leaned her head against Michael's shoulder.

"I believe so."

 

* * *

 

 

Nobody could accuse Dean of having too quick of a temper after he managed to get through the evening without throwing any more punches. Between Sam's declarations of love, Garth's comments about breathing techniques to calm down and Chuck and Becky stealing glances at each other every so often, it was a real test of Dean's self-control. In fact, the one thing getting the oldest Winchester through the day was the knowledge that Becky scheduled a meeting with the demon the following morning, so there would be something to kill then.

"Where... am I?" Sam suddenly asked as he blinked a couple of times before he even became aware of the people around him, "Becky?"

The last thing the youngest Winchester remembered was that he had been on the search for a good show to watch while Adam and Dean continued to be ridiculous. Sam had only just decided to call Gabriel to hear his boyfriend's voice and tell the former archangel about some of the more humorous things Adam and Dean had thrown at each other during their daylong car ride, when he spotted a familiar face. Sam contemplated trying to disappear in the crowd, but Becky had already seen him and where was the harm in having a cup of coffee with her?

"Dean, what...?" Sam asked, raising his voice as it became clearer and clearer to him that something had gone completely wrong.

"You better sit down again, Sammy. You're not going to like this..."


	11. Chapter 11

**10**

 

If Adam wasn't already sure that Tarot would not mind losing, the youngest Winchester would have accused his angelic friend of cheating at poker. Tarot was scary good at telling when Adam was bluffing and more often than not the angel had a lucky hand that would make anyone jealous. The youngest Winchester groaned and folded. Maybe they should broaden their horizons and invest in a couple board games.

Adam was about to deal the next hand when a knock on the door surprised him. There were not many people who knew they were at the motel and most of them would not have bothered knocking.

"Adam c'mon, it's me," Sam called as he knocked once more.

The youngest Winchester sighed as he went to open the door. Gabriel was still out like a light and Tarot was clearly apprehensive. All in all, Adam couldn't help remembering Dean's words about how they could never be lucky. Sam's visit would likely be more bad news again.

"I know you're not exactly yourself right now Sam, but if you only came to tell Gabe you really should've texted before marrying someone else again, I swear I will..." Adam ranted, only stopping when he saw his older brother's stricken expression. Whatever spell Sam had been under was gone now. Adam didn't have to be a hunter to see that.

"Welcome back, dude," Adam forced a small smile and finally opened the door wide enough for his brother to enter.

"Dean said he was going to call you," Sam stated even as his eyes were drawn to Gabriel sleeping on the bed. The former archangel looked unharmed, but from what the younger Winchester heard it wasn't his partner's physical health he had to be worried about. Dean mentioned that Sam and Gabriel met while Sam was still under the effect of the love potion. His older brother also said that the meeting did not go well and Gabriel ran off to get drunk afterward, but did not get into further details. From what Adam said Sam must have been a real ass.

"He probably got distracted," Adam shrugged, "Giving me useful information has never been high up on his list of priorities."

"They're making plans for taking down that demon tomorrow, I just..." Sam explained, his eyes still glued to Gabriel's sleeping form, "I had to..."

"Yeah, sure... we'll give you two some space," Adam stated, nodding toward Tarot. The youngest Winchester was not completely sure where they would find a place that would not freak Terry out too much in this town, but there was bound to be some small cafe around or something alike.

"Just be careful. There's a demon on the loose out there," Sam warned, looking at his younger brother and the angel. Adam wasn't a little kid and he could take care of himself, but he didn't have a hunter's arsenal with him wherever he went. With everything that already happened, it would be just like their luck for Adam to run into the crossroads demon.

"So? I've got an angel with me. Terry's gonna show him what's what, if he's unlucky enough to run into us," Adam replied confidently, before he turned to Tarot to ask, "Ready to check out if the coffee in this town is as good as yours?"

Tarot took a deep, steadying breath as he heard Adam's words. The young man had such confidence when it came to the things he was sure Tarot could do. Sometimes, the sandy-haired seraph found he believed he could do these things just a little because Adam so openly did.

"Just... just a second," Tarot answered, forcing a small smile on his face. It would have been a natural one, if Sam hadn't been present. Tarot liked Adam's brothers, he did, but they weren't around enough for him to get used to them, so they still made him nervous. The angel shook those thoughts off as much as he could. There was something else that needed his attention. Sam was back and wanted to talk to Gabriel, but Gabriel was still far too drunk for that. Tarot tried his best to ignore the looks he knew both brothers were throwing his way as he reached out to touch the side of Gabriel's head.

"Sam... there's one more thing," Adam stated once it became clear what Tarot was doing, "Gabriel was ready to accept you had found someone else, because there's something wrong with that connection you two have. I... I don't think he was going to mention it to you voluntarily, so you probably should get to the bottom of that."

Sam was taken aback by that new revelation, but Adam was not the person to discuss this with so the younger Winchester only said, "Thanks, Adam."

"It's good to have you back," Adam smiled, patting his brother's back. Then he and Tarot were gone and Sam was left alone with the man he loved and the mess they had to sort through.

 

* * *

 

 

"Promise you won't run away screaming," Hope demanded in a much more serious tone than Michael would have thought was appropriate when saying something like that.

"I suspect that screaming after curfew would draw attention to the fact that I am not in my own room as I should be," Michael replied, a teasing note to his tone. The only half-hearted smile the joke got out of Hope let the former archangel know that he should take the young woman's worries more seriously though. "I promise."

Hope nodded a couple of times before she took a deep breath and stated, "My dad's... I don't know what label they're slapping on him this week, but he's... in a mental institution right now."

Over the years Hope had heard a lot of different opinions on what exactly her father was suffering from. It seemed like every new doctor thought their predecessor had gotten it wrong. In all honesty, the labels had not meant much so long as they could not find a way to treat him.

"It hasn't always been this bad, you know?" Hope sighed, "I mean, he was always different, but... he was able to... I don't know... function?"

Granted, Hope always had to take more responsibilities at home than most of her peers. Even though most of the other kids only saw all the things her father could not be bothered to forbid her from doing, fact was that Hope was the one doing most of the organization around the house.

"On his good days, he'd just follow whatever impulse he had at the time. Honestly, I mostly loved those days," Hope added with a small smile before she sighed again, "On his bad days he didn't even leave the bed."

No matter what mood her father was in, he simply was not a reliable person. On the plus side, it never mattered to him when Hope broke any of their agreements, if they had any to begin with. On the negative side, he would tell Hope he would be home before ten only to come back sometime the next morning, if she was lucky.

"Then one day he didn't come home at all," Hope looked down at her hands in her lap, "I didn't know what to do, so I called Uncle Greg."

As it turned out, Hope's father got into a bar fight and was put into the hospital. His unwillingness to give the hospital staff any personal information made it hard to find him, but Gregory managed after a day had passed. At that time, Hope's uncle already made up his mind about the living conditions of his fifteen year old niece.

"I didn't want to leave at first, but..." Hope shrugged helplessly. It had not been her decision to stay with her father or leave with her uncle. Once Gregory brought up child protection her father grudgingly allowed his brother to take his daughter away. They agreed on visitation rights, but more often than not her father had not stuck to the arranged dates. "Dad didn't visit often, but I could tell it was getting worse. I just wish..."

Michael thought he understood what Hope was trying to say. She wished things had gone differently, which always was a useless wish. Once things happened, they happened. There was no use in wishing to change the past, even though Michael understood where the wish came from. The former archangel often wished that things with Lucifer had gone differently, that they could have found a way to hold the family together, that God had not left them...

"I have one question," Michael stated after a few long moments of silence.

Hope fully turned toward Michael, giving him a small encouraging smile.

"Why would any of that make me run screaming?" the former archangel asked in a tone that made clear he was completely serious in his confusion.

Hope looked directly into Michael's eyes for a few moments before her smile grew brighter and more genuine. The young woman did not like talking about all the baggage she came with because people tended to have one of two reactions to it: pity or avoidance. Of the two, Hope liked the pity least, but it was nearly as bad when someone either completely ignored what she had told them or they started to avoid her altogether. Michael showed neither reaction. He seemed genuinely curious about the story without letting it influence how he looked at her.

As surprised as Michael was when Hope suddenly threw her arms around his neck, he still returned the hug after a mere moment passed. The former archangel wondered what a picture the two of them would make to someone walking in at that moment -Hope's arms around Michael's neck and his arms around her waist- but he couldn't bring himself to let go before she did.

"Guess we'll have to go through all the baggage you come with next," Hope whispered teasingly, her arms still around Michael's neck. Maybe the hug should have gone from nice to awkward after the first few long moments, but it somehow never did. In fact, Hope wished they could just stay like this.

Michael honestly wished it was as easy as that.

 

* * *

 

 

"I thought hangovers were supposed to be hell," Gabriel mumbled sleepily. The former archangel remembered enough of the past day to know that he had drunk by far too much and why. He expected to wake up with a sour taste in his mouth, a horrible headache and an aching body. Instead he just felt the effects of morning grogginess and there were gentle fingers running through his hair. "This is nice."

Gabriel had not been awake enough to realize that as far as he knew he was not in the sort of company that would wake him up with scalp massages. The former archangel was just about to go back to sleep when realization set in and his eyes snapped open.

"I think Tarot sobered you up before he and Adam left," Sam explained in a gentle tone, only taking his hand away from Gabriel's head when the former archangel sat up abruptly. Even though the younger Winchester was convinced that Tarot rid his brother of the leftover alcohol in his system, Gabriel still looked like hell warmed over. Sam could not remember ever seeing his partner this disheveled and downbeat before.

"Sam!" Gabriel exclaimed, golden eyes meeting green for a mere moment before the former archangel lowered his gaze to stare at his own hands instead, "What're you...?"

Gabriel did not want to get his hopes up just to have them crushed again. He just was not sure how much more of this he could survive. In all honesty, the former trickster always assumed people were just overly dramatic -and somewhat weak- when they said they could not live without their lover. Gabriel's opinion on the topic had changed dramatically since he fell in love himself.

"Some demon gave Becky a love potion and she thought there was no harm in using it on me," Sam explained, distaste all too clear in his voice. If the younger Winchester had not been in a hurry to get to Gabriel, he would have given Becky a piece of his mind about the entire affair. Apparently, Becky saw that she had done wrong now, but that was no excuse for ever thinking that she had any right to drug Sam in the first place. "I don't even remember anything that happened in the past few days."

On the one hand, the younger Winchester was glad to not have a couple days' worth of memories of being Becky's husband. What he heard from Dean and Adam was bad enough without having the mental pictures to go along with the stories. On the other hand, it bothered Sam immensely that he was unable to even say what did and did not happen to him. Dealing with that would have to wait until Sam could sort out things with Gabriel though.

Gabriel blinked a few times. What Sam just told him was too good to be true, but at the same time it sounded too logical not to be. Things like that happened in their lives, didn't they? Hell, it did not even rank in the top five of the craziest things that ever happened to them. At the same time, Gabriel could not shake the alarming feeling that he was still only dreaming. At least it was a good dream.

"From what Adam said I was pretty cold to you," Sam sighed when Gabriel didn't say anything. The younger Winchester was not sure how he would handle suddenly losing Gabriel's love –but he did have a clue if it was anything like losing Dean- so he could not blame the former archangel for being overwhelmed and out of words to say. Though Sam still did not understand how Gabriel could just believe that Sam would ever treat him like that to begin with.

"Wasn't your fault," the former archangel mumbled, stealing a glance at the taller man. They were sitting next to each other on the bed, their sides nearly touching, but there might as well have been a wall between them. The worst part was that Gabriel could not even tell which one of them had raised the wall.

"I guess," Sam shrugged a little helplessly. It was not his fault, not really, but Sam knew he still had to be the one who had to pay for what had been done. Scrap that, both Sam and Gabriel had to pay. "But... look, Adam said you really believed that I would... that I ever could..."

"I'm... I'm sorry," Gabriel replied, forcing himself to meet Sam's eyes. The waves of guilt that came crashing down on the former archangel had not done anything to make him feel better about the situation. Of course, Sam only just shook off the effects of a love potion to find out that Gabriel pretty much gave up on their relationship. Adam and Dean were right when they said the former archangel should not have believed what he saw and should have fought for Sam instead. Gabriel began to understand that now, but at the time...

"Gabe, no. That's not... I don't want an apology. I want to understand what made you think that I'd leave you like that?" Sam explained, trying to keep his tone gentle as he reached out to brush the back of his fingers against Gabriel's cheek, "Or that I'd leave you at all,"

Gabriel closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. It would not be easy, but the former archangel realized he owed Sam an explanation. There were a lot of things Gabriel knew he had to say, but it was nearly impossible to get any order into his thoughts. "I'm not who I used to be."

"You are in all ways that count," Sam insisted, trying to catch Gabriel's eyes again which was not easy when the former archangel insisted on not meeting his gaze, "I knew something was wrong from the start, but you didn't want to open up and I thought I'd give it time. I should've known that waiting never works out for us."

All the two of them ever got out of waiting for the right moment to do or say something was lost time. They were a good team as long as open communication between them worked, which was why Sam was determined to talk this through. Realistically, looking at their history, nothing bad ever happened from them talking, but bad things always happened as soon as they neglected it.

"I thought if I ignored it, maybe it'd just go away," Gabriel huffed out a bitter laugh. Waiting really never worked out for them. The former archangel sighed deeply before he added, "I put you through a lot and I understand if your feelings have changed, but maybe..."

"Gabe, what the hell are you talking about?" Sam interrupted in an alarmed tone. The younger Winchester wondered what -outside of Becky's love potion, but they already cleared that up- could possibly make Gabriel think that Sam's feelings for him changed, but he realized they were getting to the topic they really had to talk about.

Gabriel took a few deep breaths before he could find the words to say what had to be said. The former archangel was not sure why Sam even needed him to point it out -the issue should have been as clear to Sam as it was to Gabriel- but if that was what the younger Winchester needed, the former archangel would do it. "Every time you died the connection died, but it always came back. Only this time..."

"I... I don't even know what you're talking about," Sam admitted when Gabriel had not shown any signs of wanting to finish his statement, "I know this is hard for you and that you're confused, I can feel that clear as day."

Gabriel's head snapped toward Sam to see the younger Winchester's fingers running over the amulet around his neck. There was no doubt, Sam was talking about receiving at least some of Gabriel's feelings over their shared connection. The former archangel blinked a couple of times as he tried and failed to make sense of what he just learned.

"You're projecting very loudly, Gabe," Sam pointed out, putting the hand that was closest to Gabriel over the former archangel's.

"You... you feel that?" Gabriel asked in a small voice, as if he could not believe what he heard.

"Of course, I..." Sam immediately replied, before realization set in, "Wait, that's what this is all about? You don't...?"

Gabriel nodded dumbly. It made sense to the former archangel when he thought the connection between them was broken, because Sam rejected it on some level after Gabriel was brought back from the dead. The former archangel would not have blamed the younger Winchester for that. Gabriel put Sam -and their relationship- through a lot when he lied and went behind his back to sacrifice himself.

The former archangel just thought Sam did not want to mention the missing connection any more than Gabriel did. Maybe the younger Winchester had not yet realized that some part of him completely rejected Gabriel. Maybe Sam thought they could still work through their problems and held off breaking up immediately. Hell, maybe the younger Winchester simply was too good of a person to leave Gabriel to his own devices after he had only just lost his grace, even when he could not really love him anymore...

Gabriel's grim thoughts were interrupted when a wave of love and devotion with just a hint of uncertainty hit him.

"How...?" the former archangel breathed, even as he felt tears gathering in his eyes. Other than the tears Gabriel cried the night before, they were happy tears though.

"I pushed... hard," Sam replied. The younger Winchester simply did not know enough about how the amulets and the connection between them worked to say for sure how he managed to get something through to Gabriel. Sam only knew for certain that he did the one thing that felt logical. He concentrated as hard as he could on the feelings he wanted to share and hoped it would work.

"You... you just..." Gabriel stammered.

"I don't know how this worked for you when you were still an angel, but maybe it's just different now," Sam guessed with a slight shrug. The younger Winchester knew that Gabriel had some troubles getting used to not being in control of his emotions. Since their connection largely worked over emotions, maybe that was the reason why Gabriel was unable to tap into it from his side.

Gabriel looked around completely confused for a few moments before a grin spread over his face. Who cared if it was too good to be true? From Gabriel's point of view, their whole relationship had been too good to be true from the start, but it was still real. Besides, sometimes the easiest solutions were the right ones.

Before Sam knew what was happening, he had a lap full of relieved and happy former archangel. Gabriel's surprised laugh let Sam know that the thought he tried to send to his partner had gotten through loud and clear.

_You're an idiot, but you're my idiot._


	12. Chapter 12

**11**

 

"I'm not gonna stay here," Gabriel protested vehemently. It was not the fact that it was Becky's place, but the fact that everyone who was not directly involved in the plan to take the crossroads demon down was supposed to stay was what had the former archangel up in arms. Of course, Gabriel did not like the thought of being stuck at the house of the woman who tried to steal Sam from him, but more than that he did not want to stay behind and do nothing while the hunters did their thing. "Hell, even Becky's going!"

"She's the decoy, Gabe," Sam pointed out with a sigh. They were not taking Becky with them, because they preferred having her around over Gabriel. Becky made the appointment with the demon and taking Guy down would be easier if he thought things were going according to plan.

"So? I'm still coming too," Gabriel crossed his arms in front of his chest. The former archangel tried to give his voice the authoritative note that always worked for him when he still had divine powers, but it came out as a weak attempt even to his own ears.

"I just want to keep you safe," Sam stated with a gentle smile.

"I know, but I don't want that," Gabriel replied seriously, "It's about time I get to prove that I'm not useless."

"You're not..." Sam objected, automatically raising his voice until he remembered that there was nothing more than a wooden door separating them from the rest of the team's prying ears. The younger Winchester took a deep breath before he made sure to meet Gabriel's eyes as he promised, "Gabe, nobody thinks you're useless."

"I do," Gabriel retorted with a faked casual shrug, "I know I don't have to prove myself to you, but I have something to prove to myself."

Sam did not like the certainty with which Gabriel proclaimed his uselessness. It sounded as if the former archangel was convinced that he was nothing more than deadweight to them all. The younger Winchester could appreciate that his partner was finally sharing his feelings about becoming human, but that did not mean he had to like hearing it.

"I felt like wrapping you in protective cotton candy all the time when I still could," Gabriel added after a moment of heavy silence, "But that's not the way your life works... it's not the way _our_ life works."

Sam nodded tightly. The younger Winchester was not comfortable with the thought of bringing Gabriel anywhere near a hunt, but the former archangel was right. The Winchesters' lives were difficult and dangerous. Adam, Tarot and Chuck wanted to stay away from all that as much as they could, which was fine and dandy, making it the logical choice for them to stay back and let the hunters handle things. Gabriel on the other hand, wanted to share Sam's life completely and forcing him to stay back would not help the former archangel in wrapping his head around the idea that he still was a valued part of the team. "Okay, but..."

"Yes, yes, I'll follow orders and not take any unnecessary risks," Gabriel nodded seriously.

"I don't like the way you say 'unnecessary'," Sam sighed as he squeezed Gabriel's hand. The part the younger Winchester worried about the most was that his partner simply did not fully understand his limitations yet.

"I won't take any risks, promise," the former archangel promised, raising his hand for a boy scout worthy vow. When the gesture got a small smile out of his partner Gabriel leaned in to plant a quick kiss on Sam's lips.

Sam was not looking forward to having to sell the idea of Gabriel tagging along to Dean, but the group only had a few minutes before they had to leave, so the discussion would not be lengthy at least. As Sam and Gabriel made their way back to Becky's dining room and the rest of the team, the former archangel's eyes fell on a stack of call cards next to Becky's phone. Gabriel grinned to himself as he pocketed one of them unnoticed by everyone else.

 

* * *

 

 

"Lucy," Gracie whimpered as she entered the playhouse.

Lucifer had managed to get out of bed with some difficulty to renew the warding on the walls with yet, even more finger paint -it was not dignified, but effective- and had his back turned to the kid. The former archangel turned around to chastise the little abomination for blemishing his name again, but the teary eyed look on the girl's face tied his tongue very effectively.

"The internet..." Gracie wailed, throwing her arms around her angel's middle, "Are you...? Wiki kids says..."

"What's gotten into you?" Lucifer asked, thoroughly bewildered by the girl's behavior. They were both lucky Lucifer stood close enough to the wall to be able to reach out for balance, or he would have fallen and most likely taken her with him.

"Were you livin' in hell, 'cause you're the devil?" Gracie managed to get out after she took a few deep breaths. Once the little girl started to speak she was unable to stop, a flood of words came over her lips so quickly it made Lucifer's head spin. "'Cause it says you're... that you're the angel who thought he was better than God and then..."

"Don't believe everything you read, Grace," Lucifer advised, his voice much weaker than he was comfortable with, "That's not how it went."

The former archangel had to pry the girl off him to sit down. Lucifer had thought his vessel was incredibly weak when he first woke up in the woods, but he had not known then how far he could still fall. It did not help knowing that Grace found out who he really was gave Lucifer all kinds of nasty and pesky feelings.

"Tell me!" Gracie demanded, as she sat down in front of Lucifer on the floor cross-legged like she did most days. The little girl was still upset because of the things her quick internet search had revealed while her mother was out of the room, but she was ready to listen to what Lucifer had to say for himself.

"Does it make a difference now that you know?" Lucifer huffed out a humorless chuckle. No matter what he told the girl, he would always be the devil to her. Just like she would always be a little abomination to him, even if it had turned from an insult to a pet name some time ago.

"Yes!" Gracie immediately exclaimed, looking up to Lucifer with big hazel eyes, "'Cause I don't think you're bad, but..."

The little girl knew Lucifer personally. She doubted any of the people who wrote entries for Wikipedia did, so Gracie knew him more than they did for sure. Lucifer was often grumpy and sometimes impolite, but he was not evil. Gracie needed to hear his side of the story to understand why other people thought he was.

"I loved my brothers and my father, don't ever dare to think otherwise," Lucifer started in a stern tone, before he took a deep breath and softened his voice a little, "But when God created humans and asked us to just accept it, love them unconditionally, bow down and submit, I couldn't take it. I said 'no' and stuck to it, even though it earned me an eternity in hell."

Gracie frowned deeply as she listened to her angel. Lucifer already told her that he was sent to hell for disobedience. Gracie still thought that was a total overreaction, even if he said no to loving humans. The little girl did not even consider that 'not loving humans' included her as well, because Lucifer already said that they were friends, so that clearly meant he made an exception for her.

"It's like... when Dana made friends with Sarah 'nd said I had to be her friend too and I said I di'n't like Sarah 'nd Dana said we couldn't hang out if I was bein' stupid... 'nd then I pulled her hair and got detention?" Gracie pondered out loud. The little girl understood that she had to be nice -on some level at least- to people even if she did not like them, but she also knew how hard that was and sometimes it simply did not work at all. "I still think Sarah is a total bitch."

Lucifer nearly had to laugh. It surprised him time and time again how simple things were from the kid's point of view. At the same time, the parallels she drew between her own experiences and Lucifer's often matched to a degree that allowed Lucifer to believe she really understood him in a way.

"I still think _most_ humans are useless meat sacks," Lucifer shrugged casually even as he gave the girl a fond smile. There was at least one human Lucifer had to admit was worthy of the unconditional love his father spoke of, especially since she seemed to think Lucifer was worthy of the same.

 

* * *

 

 

"I... I have to kiss you now, right?" Becky asked, swallowing hard. She had known that Guy was a demon before he revealed his red eyes to her, but it still was shocking. The tiny part of Becky that still believed that maybe everyone got the facts wrong and Guy was just a wiccan after all hurt as it died out, especially since it also took the very faint hope that maybe Sam had some feelings for her that really were activated by the potion with it. Becky understood that Sam and Gabriel were a couple -a good couple, a couple she actually could have shipped in the books- and that the relationship Becky had with Chuck was a hundred times realer than anything she ever thought she had with Sam. It still would have been good for her bad conscience, if the drugs she had given to Sam were not on a demon deal level bad.

"Believe me, Becky, I'm not looking forward to that part either," Guy retorted with a long suffering sigh as he stood up and approached the woman. Becky was much more trouble than she was worth, but the damage was already done, so the demon could at least take her soul as compensation.

Becky swallowed again as she quickly lit the lighter she had concealed in her hand and dropped it to the floor and into the liquor they spilled earlier. Guy looked confused for a moment until he realized the flames were forming a devil's trap around him.

"Blueberry vodka. The answer to all of life's problems," Garth stated, putting the bottle away before he joined the Winchesters and Gabriel as they closed in on the demon.

"You know Guy -seriously, there was no more generic name you could come up with?- I've never had a high opinion on your kind, but cheating like you've been..." Dean snorted. The oldest Winchester had to admit that most of the time his sympathy for people who made deals was limited. Of course, they did what they could to save them, as they always did when monsters and demons were involved, but in the end those people did it to themselves. Crossroads demons not sticking to the deals they made gave the whole issue a new layer though.

"I'm not a cheater. I'm an innovator. It's called a loophole, you moron. Yes, when a person bargains away their soul, they gets a decade, technically," Guy replied in a priggish tone, "Accidents happen,"

"So you're arranging 'accidents' and collecting early?" Sam asked, though they knew the answer already. In a way, it was nearly surprising they never heard of a case like this before. After all nothing in the deals stated that you had to stay alive for those ten years you got usually.

"Oh, please. White gloves. I don't get my hands dirty. That's why it's important to have capable interns," Guy stated as a disconcerting grin spread over his face.

Sam immediately took a protective stance in front of Gabriel when three demons appeared. Garth's gun went flying at the same moment as Dean was flung across the room and crashed into a wall. The oldest Winchester only had enough time to get his limbs under control before one of the demons charged him.

Sam wanted to help his brother, but came face to face with a very tall demon before he could even take a step. The moment the younger Winchester took to see if Gabriel was still behind him was all the demon needed to knock Sam off his feet.

After one of the other demons broke the devil's trap, Guy was quick to catch up to Becky and take a hold of her neck. Garth's attempt to help Becky ended with the hunter being thrown into a table by the third demon. All in all, Guy's interns were effectively keeping the hunters in check, so he could take revenge on the pathetic moron who tried to make his operation come crashing down.

Gabriel realized he did not have the muscle strength he would need to move the bulky demon off Sam, but he took a couple steps back and gathered all the speed he could before throwing himself against the demon did the job. The demon was surprised enough to let go of Sam as the former archangel crashed into his side, sending the two of them tumbling over. All air was knocked out of Gabriel the moment the demon fell on top of him, but the former archangel only set out to buy Sam a little time. The younger Winchester automatically reached for the demon killing knife as soon as his hands were free and embedded it in the demon's chest. Sam noticed that the other two demons were busy struggling with Dean and Garth as he rolled the dead body off a disheveled Gabriel. The younger Winchester was not sure that grinning was the appropriate response to the situation, but he understood where his partner was coming from. However, the battle was not over yet.

"Hello, boys," Crowley's voice carried through the room even before the king of hell made his grand entrance. The demons holding Dean and Garth immediately let the hunters go and took a respectful stance as they faced their king.

"You Winchesters are really not what you used to be. I thought if I gave you, let's say, five minutes, you'd spare me from having to go through disciplinary proceedings with this one here," Crowley added, nodding toward Guy who finally released Becky.

"Sir, I was only..." Guy tried to explain, but his voice was silenced with a wave of Crowley's hand before he could say even a word more.

"I know exactly what you've been doing," Crowley stated in a deceptively calm tone that got gradually louder as he spoke on, "Dragging the good name of all crossroads demons through the dirt, violating our most sacred principles."

Sam didn't say anything, but filed that piece of information away for further reference. Apparently, crossroads demons had to take their deals very seriously with no cheating whatsoever allowed.

"Not. Reading. My. Memos!" Crowley yelled just a moment before Guy disappeared in a puff of black smoke. The king of hell was still undecided about what to do with Guy's little helpers. They had at least shown Crowley the respect he deserved, but they ignored his orders about steering clear of all things Winchester all the same. They would be punished as co-conspirators, but Crowley might show them some mercy, if they proved their usefulness in one of the special operations the king of hell had going on.

"What did you do to him?" Garth asked with a frown.

"Sent him back for a little re-education. Believe me, he'll wish I had let you kill him soon enough," Crowley stated casually as he waved the other demons over to stand by his side. There was only so much plaid the king of hell could bear in one day and he was reaching his limits.

"Hey wait, what about the deals he made?" Dean demanded to know. There was nothing much they could do about Crowley preventing them from killing Guy, but they had to take care of the deals the demon had still going. Unfortunately it was already too late for some, but the others could still have their get out of hell cards.

"Please, boys, a little trust between old friends goes a long way," Crowley replied in mock disappointment.

"Yeah, right," Dean huffed, before he demanded once more, "Cancel them!"

"Done," Crowley stated with a smug smile as he waved his hands. It gave the king of hell some satisfaction to know that he had in fact cancelled the deals, but the hunters would have to take his word for it. "Take it as a one-time only compensation for one of my subjects knowingly bothering you."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks after hearing that. To tell the truth, with everything that happened they had nearly forgotten about Crowley and Gabriel's deal that involved keeping Crowley's subjects away from the Winchesters. Even if they had remembered, they would never have believed that Crowley felt honor bound to the contract.

"I for one honor my deals," Crowley added in an accusing tone as he threw a side-glance toward Gabriel.

"What are you implying, Crowles?" Gabriel retorted with a fake innocent smile, "Do you see me marching against hell and especially you with a heavenly army?"

Nobody could say that Gabriel was not keeping his side of the bargain. It was not Gabriel's fault that Crowley wanted the deal under the false assumption that Gabriel would still be an archangel at the end of the Apocalypse and possibly the new leader of heaven. Besides, for all Gabriel knew Castiel and Balthazar had no interest in marching against hell anyway and he would have advised against it even if they did.

"You got off on a technicality, trickster," Crowley snorted, distaste all too apparent in his tone and expression.

"You're just mad because you didn't think of something like that," Gabriel shrugged, "But it looks like things worked out fine for you anyway."

"It's a thankless business, but somebody has to be king," Crowley replied softening his tone to match his benign king image. The king of hell could be benevolent -kind even- if his subjects deserved it, but they all had to fear his wrath if they strayed from the right -read, Crowley's- path.

"So, you got your old position back? Good for you," Dean huffed. Things did not change for them in the slightest with this new revelation, so the oldest Winchester was willing to count it as a win for the team.

"Oh no, you misunderstand. It's king of hell now. You may call me your majesty," Crowley corrected the hunter's assumption with barely concealed glee, "Don't look so shocked, boys. As they say, better the devil you know..."

Crowley and the two remaining demons were gone within the blink of an eye, leaving the humans behind to fully take in what they just learned.

"Son of a bitch!"

 

* * *

 

 

Surprisingly enough, Adam managed to keep his thoughts on Chuck staying with Becky for another couple of days to himself. The youngest Winchester's grimace at the announcement said it all anyway. Tarot was quick to transport himself and his best friend back to their home in Celebration after that. The sandy-haired seraph never even knew how lucky he was to be gone just before Garth gave everyone tight farewell hugs.

"Sam, what the hell are you doing back there?" Dean asked with a groan. The oldest Winchester knew that nothing good could come out of Sam sharing the backseat with his boyfriend while Dean was driving! Dean understood that his brother and the former archangel wanted to be close to each other, but they had a very long drive to South Dakota ahead of them and Dean could not promise they would get there safe and sound if the two were already started with their monkey business in the backseat!

"What?" Sam frowned deeply, before he understood what his brother could possibly be talking about and he hurried to exclaim, "Nothing!"

"Don't even try to lie to me, I can see short-stop's grin!" Dean glared at the -all too- happy couple in the rearview mirror. The oldest Winchester could not see what the two were doing with their hands -thank God!- but Gabriel's stupid grin had to come from something. Whatever they were doing in his baby, Dean wanted them to stop immediately!

"I've got nothing to do with..." Sam started to protest, before it dawned on him that Gabriel had in fact not stopped grinning for quite some time.

"Don't worry Dean-o, I'm just thinking about my farewell present for Becky dearest," the former archangel explained in a fake innocent tone.

"Gabe, what did you do?" Sam asked alarmed the same moment Dean turned his head to look at them directly for a second before he had to concentrate on the road again. Both Winchesters were instantly reminded of the fact that they had a trickster with them, human or not.

"She was craving male attention, she's going to get it," Gabriel shrugged before he unlocked his phone and handed it to Sam with a bright grin.

After everything Becky put them through, the younger Winchester could not bring himself to disapprove of the Craig's list add Gabriel published in Becky's name. If Becky wanted to stop people from calling her for a good time she could always change her number.


	13. Chapter 13

**12**

 

It seemed strange for a man with as much to hide as Bobby Singer did to leave the front door unlocked basically all day. At least, that was what sheriff Jody Mills thought before she had gotten to know the man better. The sheriff had to say that she could follow Bobby's reasoning that everyone who came as a friend would knock or ring and everyone who came as an enemy would just kick the door in.

Jody herself stopped ringing the doorbell weeks ago. If the old hunter was not at home the door was locked -there were normal thieves and vandals to be considered too- and if he was Bobby would let her in anyway.

"Hello Bobby," Jody greeted the hunter with a nice smile. Her first guess about Bobby being in his study had been right. There were new marks on the map which meant the hunter had kept searching through the stacks of papers on his desk after Jody left the previous day. Sometimes the sheriff had to wonder if Bobby ever managed to sleep between running the salvage yard, keeping in contact with all those hunters and working on their project. Maybe it was a little too much to call it 'their project', but Bobby and Jody worked on it together as often as their schedules allowed so the sheriff liked to think she had a pretty big part in it.

"Morning sheriff," Bobby replied, returning Jody's smile. If he was brutally honest Bobby never expected to be friends with the sheriff, but Karen's death and the loss of Jody's family had given them common ground. It was nice to have someone who understood not only how hard it was to lose a loved one -Bobby could have talked to most people he knew for that- but also knew the feeling of deep seated guilt over ever believing that the dead coming back from their graves would be anything other than bad news. It was that belief that cost Jody her husband and made Bobby do things he still regretted. Not to mention that Jody was a smart woman with a lot of connections. All in all, having the sheriff around regularly was nice and something Bobby had gotten used to very quickly.

"Some new reports came in. Nothing too strange, but I thought you'd like to look over them anyway," Jody announced as she put the map she carried in her right hand on the desk, "I also brought..."

Jody had not even gotten the opportunity to reveal what the white box she held at her left contained before Dean entered the room.

"Do I smell pie?" Dean asked with a winning grin, before he fully acknowledged it was the local sheriff who was holding the promising looking box, "Is this an official visit, because I promise I was just about to pay those parking tickets."

Of course, the oldest Winchester was kidding. There were no parking tickets to be paid for. Dean generally tried to avoid parking violations, because it was the hell of a hassle to get his baby out of impoundment. Most of all, Dean hated the thought of strange men touching his baby to take her away from him. Nobody locked baby in a corner!

"Jody is helping me look for the archangels," Bobby explained with a sigh. The old hunter was sure that the oldest Winchester would find a way to make this embarrassing for everyone. For someone who always acted like he was gagging at the first signs of affection between his younger brother and his boyfriend, Dean sure liked to stick his nose into Bobby's -nonexistent- love life.

"Oh, it's Jody now..." the oldest Winchester grinned as he nudged Jody's side with his elbow.

"Don't think you're too old for me to bend you over my knee, boy," Bobby threatened, giving Dean a pointed glare. The old hunter would have to show the idjit how fast he could take him down a peg, if Dean did not watch his words carefully. Apparently, Bobby's glare was enough to let the oldest Winchester know how serious he was.

"I'll just..." Dean cleared his throat awkwardly as he nodded toward the door. There would be more opportunities to tease Bobby about his new 'friend' later. For the moment, Dean would not push his luck any further. If Bobby thought he had something to prove, the old hunter might stay true to his threat and even an attempt could only end badly and embarrassingly for both of them.

Apparently the oldest Winchester was lucky that day, since the next hilarious thing was just around the corner; this time in the form of his younger brother's boyfriend in red shorts.

"Nice legs," Dean commented.

"Really, Dean-o?" Gabriel asked, snorting as he raised an eyebrow at the oldest Winchester. If Dean thought that the former archangel was insecure about any parts of his body, he was sorely mistaken. There was a reason -other than that they were hard to come by- why Gabriel had not changed vessels in ages. The former archangel was about to point out that Sam's legs in shorts were even better than his, looking even more mile long and drool worthy than they usually did, just to see Dean squirm, when a much better comment for riling the oldest Winchester up came to his mind. "I thought those shorts showed off my perky a-"

"Let's just get going before it gets too hot outside," Sam suggested before his partner could finish his statement. It was bad enough that Gabriel bent over demonstratively to check his sneakers were tied firmly enough and wiggled his butt in Dean's general direction. Sam really wanted to get going before the two most important men in his life -with Bobby and Adam as close runner ups- could get into one of their loud and lengthy arguments again.

The oldest Winchester opened and closed his mouth without saying anything. The former archangel would have deserved a witty comeback to his stupid comment, but Dean was content enough knowing that Gabriel was about to learn what Sam considered a quick morning jog.

"You know, muffin, this isn't what I had in mind when you said training," Gabriel stated on the way outside. The former archangel really did not like the smirk Dean threw his way before they left. The oldest Winchester probably knew something Gabriel did not and the former archangel had a feeling that it had something to do with Sam's training program. "I was thinking knives and guns, the whole 'we're big bad hunters' shebang."

Gabriel would be the first to admit that he was not a big fighter. Of course he fought back when he was attacked and sometimes a preemptive strike was necessary. Gabriel was not a pacifist by a long stretch, but he preferred a sneaky approach over an open confrontation any day. However, the former archangel wanted to prove that he was not a liability to the hunters -especially Sam- and to achieve that he had to prove he could fight.

"We'll get to that," Sam promised, leaning in to give Gabriel a quick peck to the lips before he straightened his posture and declared, "But first: Cardio."

"I thought that was only needed for the zombie Apocalypse," Gabriel quipped as he started to jog after Sam. The former archangel had to admit that he could use some more endurance and unfortunately doing sports regularly was the only way to achieve that. At least there were upsides to an enhanced stamina that would be worth working for.

"You know that zombies are one of the things we're dealing with," Sam retorted, shaking his head before he turned back to state, "Now stop complaining. A little jogging never hurt anyone."

Gabriel huffed out a laugh, "Are you sure? 'Cause I'm pretty sure a lot of people have dropped dead from..."

"You want to keep eating all that sugar and still keep your perky ass? You're gonna have to start burning calories," Sam interrupted, smirking to himself. The younger Winchester would not go as far as to say his boyfriend was vain, but Gabriel knew he was good-looking and wanted it to stay that way.

"What are we waiting for?" Gabriel asked, gaining more speed to catch up to Sam. The former archangel could not help two thoughts that crossed his mind a second later. First, Sam was only just getting warmed up while Gabriel thought the speed they were going at was a tick too fast already. Also second -and most importantly- Sam's ass looked more than awesome in his blue shorts.

 

* * *

 

 

"Go on without me..." Gabriel declared dramatically. The former archangel was sweaty, out of breath and his legs hurt. Nobody could say Gabriel had not given jogging a fair chance. He had not stopped at the first signs of breathlessness, he kept running even after he discovered that his shoes were chaffing the backs of his heels and he did all of it with just minor complaints. The former archangel hoped against hope that their route would take them back to Bobby's house and he would catch the liberating sight of the salvage yard in the distance soon. No such luck though and Gabriel was done with it.

"Gabe," Sam sighed, slowing his pace immediately. All of Gabriel's complaints this far had been half-hearted, so Sam took the liberty of ignoring them. However, his partner sounded completely seriously this time.

"I can't... I just can't..." Gabriel wheezed as he bowed over, his hands on his thighs as he tried to catch his breath. If anyone asked, the former archangel would maintain that they had been going for an hour at least and Sam's speed was closer to that of a cyclist than a jogger. One stupid comment out of Dean's mouth and the oldest Winchester could have a sweaty hug and Gabriel's undoubtedly stinky sneakers hidden under his bed!

"Okay fine, we're turning back now," Sam agreed with an encouraging smile as soon as Gabriel was ready to stand straight and look him in the eye again. The younger Winchester would have preferred to keep going for at least another five minutes, but the twenty-five they managed were really good considering it was Gabriel's first time. The air was heating up anyway and Sam did not intend to turn his partner off of doing any sports with him in the future.

"What?" Gabriel nearly squeaked as he gave Sam an incredulous look, "Muffin, unless you carry me... or you plan to call me a cab..."

They obviously were not on some circuit that would lead them back to where they started, which meant they would have to walk all the way back. There was no way Gabriel could run again and especially not for as long as it had taken them to get this far! The former archangel was only just starting to catch his breath again and his legs were even heavier now than they were before! If Sam honestly asked him to jog again Gabriel was sure he would just keel over. He would...

"Y'know, I was thinking about that little privacy problem we have at Bobby's," Sam suddenly whispered in a low, seductive tone. His breath was tickling Gabriel's ear as the younger Winchester gently moved some sweaty strands of hair out of his partner's face. "And suddenly the panic room came to mind, but I guess testing that can wait..."

Gabriel's golden eyes met Sam's green ones as the former archangel tried to figure out how serious his boyfriend was about the offer. There was nothing in Sam's gaze that suggested anything other than complete sincerity which immediately made Gabriel reconsider how bad of a shape he really was in. They had only gone for ten minutes tops before Gabriel's little breakdown, right? What was another ten minutes?

"What's the holdup? Get your firm ass in gear already!" the former archangel exclaimed as he started to jog back toward the salvage yard.

Sam was too surprised to move for a few seconds before he laughed and shook his head. At least Gabriel was really easy to motivate.

 

* * *

 

 

"This damn sure would be easier, if we knew what any of them look like," Jody exhaled soundly as they kept looking through stack after stack of papers. The sheriff never noticed how many strange or unexplained things occurred on a daily basis before she started to search the police database for that sort of thing. Sure, every now and then cases could not be closed, but Jody always assumed there was a natural explanation for those that nobody had found yet. Not anymore.

The sheriff and the old hunter were mostly looking for signs of the three missing former archangels, but this far they had only come up with possible hauntings and an alarming amount of potential monsters wreaking havoc. Bobby was passing them on to hunters he knew were in the vicinity, so the general public was surely profiting from their fruitless search. It was still frustrating that they could not find anything about the people they were actually looking for.

"Wait a second," Bobby replied, his head snapping up from the papers he had been looking through to meet the sheriff's gaze, "The boys could identify Lucifer and Raphael, if they're still in their vessels..."

None of them had any idea what became of Michael after he was thrown out of heaven without a vessel to call his own, but Lucifer and Raphael –as far as they knew- were inhabiting vessels at the time. Sam, Dean and Gabriel knew what Lucifer looked like and the Winchesters had seen Raphael's new vessel during their stay in heaven.

"Taking vessels should make for missing people reports," Jody pondered out loud. If they could find the reports and the pictures that went with it, Jody could put a search warrant out for them. At the very least they would be able to identify them in case files once they knew what they looked like. "It's worth a shot."

Bobby nodded thoughtfully. They had a rough time frame for when the people Lucifer and Raphael had taken over would have disappeared. The old hunter would not kid himself. The new plan would make for another huge stack of papers to go through, but it seemed more promising than looking for any and all strange occurrences in the country.

"You're very helpful, sheriff," Bobby stated.

"I try," Jody shrugged.

Their eyes met as they smiled at each other. Bobby realized they were a good team weeks ago. Jody was much more open-minded than the old hunter had come to expect from an officer of the law. She took most things Bobby taught her in a stride and often came up with ideas that were really helpful. At the same time, Jody was very grateful to have found someone who could tell her more about this crazy, monstrous part of the world she stumbled into. The sheriff felt much more grounded since her world made sense again. It was comforting to know even the supernatural world had rules.

The moment between the sheriff and the hunter was over when Sam and Gabriel returned from their jog.

"You promised," Gabriel complained in a whiny tone even as he tried to catch his breath, "You can't promise sex and not deliver! It's cruel!"

"You just said you can't even move anymore," Sam retorted, huffing out a laugh that only added insult to injury as far as Gabriel was concerned. The younger Winchester had to half drag, half carry his partner back into the house after Gabriel completely wore himself out on the way back. Sam was very impressed that the former archangel managed to run the entire way, even if Gabriel's legs gave out the moment they reached the salvage yard.

"So? You'll have to do the moving!" Gabriel stated logically, obviously very pleased with himself and the solution he came up with, "I'll just lie back and..."

Bobby slammed the door to his study shut before they could hear or -heaven forbid- see anything more. At least Jody was laughing. Bobby idly wondered if she would still be laughing after spending a couple of days with the idjits. Somehow the old hunter always started to immensely appreciate his usual solitude when the boys came to visit.


	14. Chapter 14

**13**

 

Gabriel could not help thinking that Sam was like the most adorable puppy when he was sleeping. The younger Winchester's features were completely relaxed, strands of hair falling over his eyes now and then, which Gabriel gently tucked back behind his partner's ear again. It was a fruitless task, every time Sam moved the slightest the hair would come loose again, but Gabriel thought he could spend hours like this.

"Since when are you up before me?" Sam asked sleepily a moment after the former archangel once more brushed some hair out of his face. The younger Winchester kept his eyes closed as he leaned into his boyfriend's touch. The sun had not even come up yet, but it was getting light outside so it had to be very early morning. In short, it was just the right time for some extensive cuddling.

"Since I've got to make sure you're still here," Gabriel replied honestly, pressing his lips against the spot behind Sam's ear that always made the younger Winchester melt. It never failed to amuse the former archangel that he was the big spoon of their sleeping arrangement, but at the same time it gave him a good feeling to know Sam still felt safe enough to let him have that position.

"Gabe," Sam sighed, turning around to face his partner.

"Shh, it's okay," Gabriel tried his best to smile before he leaned in and brushed his lips against Sam's, "It'll just take some time to stop thinking you could be gone again someday."

"I'd never leave you voluntarily," Sam vowed, meeting Gabriel's eyes before he asked, "What do I have to do to...?"

"Nothing, Sam. It's not..." Gabriel interrupted, before he even took a moment to consider what he really wanted to say, "I just feel like there's nothing I've got to give to you anymore."

Sam was still the same wonderful man Gabriel fell in love with, but he knew the same could not be said for him. The former archangel could not offer help or protection the same way he used to, he could not simply snap his fingers and take them wherever Sam wanted to go, he could not make things appear or disappear... Hell, Gabriel had troubles controlling what little magic there was for him to handle the amulet.

"Gabe, the one thing I want is your love," Sam replied seriously as he leaned his forehead against the former archangel's. Of course, Gabriel's powers came in handy more than once while he had them, but Gabriel did not need his grace to be the man Sam loved, even if the former archangel had a hard time seeing it. What the younger Winchester loved about Gabriel the most was how mindful of Sam's thoughts and feelings the former archangel usually was and he loved Gabriel's creativity, sass and sense of humor. In short, Sam loved everything that made Gabriel Gabriel and did not count an archangel's powers as one of those things.

"I sure can give you that," Gabriel replied in a nearly choked up tone before a grin spread over his face.

"We're good then," Sam said just before the former archangel rolled them over so he could fit himself comfortably between the younger Winchester's legs. Sam was about to point out that they were not in the panic room and that the soundproofing of this part of the house really was not the best when Gabriel shimmied out of his sleep pants and promptly made the younger Winchester lose his train of thoughts.

 

* * *

 

 

Dean groaned, grabbing the pillow from under his head and pressing it against his face instead. It was bad enough that the oldest Winchester had to witness the PDA between Sam and the former archangel all day long; he really did not need to hear any of the activities they got up to in the early morning!

Dean realized he should have banged against the wall and shouted at them to quit the crap when he heard the first few noises, but at the time the oldest Winchester had the foolish hope that what he heard was them finishing, not getting started! Dean realized that the right time to interrupt had passed. After a certain point it would be too cruel to demand they stop.

The oldest Winchester could only hope that Bobby would get fed up and break out the shotgun. In the meantime Dean would have to find a way to distract himself.

"Hey Cas, listen dude," Dean sighed, as he tried not to focus on how silly it felt to speak to an empty room without anything like a phone involved. Praying was supposed to work for them despite the marks on their ribs. Since there were no angels out for their heads anymore -that they knew of anyway- there was no harm in talking to Castiel for a while. "My middle brother and your older brother are driving me nuts."

It wasn't only about the noises Sam and Gabriel made, the entire situation was not exactly after the oldest Winchester's liking. Dean was happy that Becky had not managed to break the two up for long. It was highly unlikely that spending time with a heartbroken Sam would be any more pleasant than having a lovey-dovey Sam and Gabriel around. The real problem was that Sam and Gabriel were an item while Dean was... a unique copy. Sure, the oldest Winchester was hardly ever alone, but he went from being Sam's best friend to the third wheel, if he felt like being dramatic about it. Of course Sammy was still his baby brother and the person who knew Dean better than he knew himself at times, but Sam had a relationship outside of that relationship between brothers. It had not been quite so obvious during the Apocalypse when Castiel was around frequently, but as things were, Dean felt like he was missing out on something.

"I know you've got important stuff going on..." Dean added before he frowned deeply. All the oldest Winchester knew was that Castiel and Balthazar were in heaven to minimize the damage done by the archangels' disappearance and to set the angels on the right path, whatever it was that entailed. "You really should explain what the hell it is you're doing these days by the way."

Besides, there was so much left to explain about pop culture and human behavior. Castiel had skipped the lessons Dean fully intended to teach him for long enough!

"Anyway, it'd be nice to have someone sane to hang out with now and then," Dean finished with a crooked smile. The oldest Winchester tried to ignore it over the past few weeks, but he really missed the angel. Both his younger brothers had their own personal angels, so there was nothing wrong with Dean wanting his angel-bud around! "So what I'm saying is... swing your ass down here some time... and don't bring Balthazar."

 

* * *

 

 

Lucifer's eyes snapped open the moment he felt something cold cover parts of his face. The former archangel was fully prepared to put up as much of a fight as he could when he realized it was Grace who put a cool, wet rag on his forehead. It was only when Lucifer allowed himself to relax back into the pillows that he was fully hit with the sensation of burning up. His entire body was covered in sweat, which could not be explained away by the temperature in the wooden playhouse.

"You need a doctor," Gracie stated matter-of-factly as soon as she was sure she had her angel's attention. The little girl did not like to admit it, but all her attempts to help Lucifer get better had been ineffective. The angel was getting worse every day and Gracie was at the end of her possibilities. All that was left to do was to call a doctor.

"No," Lucifer rasped, only just noticing how parched his throat was when he tried to speak.

"Yes!" Gracie insisted even as she handed the angel a glass of water. Drinking enough liquid was always important, but especially so when you were ill. Besides, Gracie hoped that Lucifer would be more reasonable when he was feeling a little better and was less cranky.

"You're not gettin' any better," Gracie stated with a small pout as soon as Lucifer was settled again, "You need a doctor, now!"

Nobody liked going to the doctor, Gracie herself hated it, but sometimes it was necessary. Even if all you got out of it was bad news, it was still important to know what was going on. Her father always said that even uncomfortable facts had to be known so you could start to deal with them.

"You don't understand," Lucifer sighed, "A doctor wouldn't help."

The damage done to the former archangel's vessel was the result of an overly powerful celestial being inhabiting an insufficiently equipped body. The last time Lucifer checked -when he still possessed the powers to check- Nick was at the brink of falling apart completely already. The human's body was too burned out to be of much use. In fact, if Lucifer had left his vessel at that point, he was sure Nick would have dropped dead within the minute. Taking all that into consideration, it was a miracle Lucifer made it for as long as he did.

"You're sick... doctors help when you're sick!" Gracie pointed out vehemently. Somebody had to help her angel, because Gracie sure as hell was not going to lose him! They were friends and there were so many things the little girl still wanted to show to him.

"I don't need a doctor, I need..." Lucifer started to object before he noticed how upset Grace was. Apparently the smart little abomination came to the same conclusion Lucifer did. The next step was death.

Lucifer groaned. The former archangel did not want to die. As things were he would go back to hell and probably find himself on the racks before long. Lucifer did not look forward to that part, but it was nothing worse than what he had gone through before. The more troubling part was that dying would mean leaving Grace now that Lucifer learned to love her. The former archangel could push that thought aside, though. He had been ripped away from his entire family when he was cast down into hell the last time. What was leaving one measly human compared to that? Of course, Grace would feel differently about all of this and try as he may, Lucifer could not bring himself to disregard the little girl's feelings even if he would not be around to witness them anymore.

"Can you find anything other than angels with that wiki thing?" Lucifer finally asked. The general idea came to him days ago, but he hadn't thought he would go through with it. As things were, he was out of options.

"Everything's somewhere on the internet," Gracie replied, giving her angel a quizzical look.

"Good," Lucifer nodded tightly, "There's someone I need you to find and call for me."

 

* * *

 

 

"I just dropped by to tell you I'll have the missing people reports in the evening," Jody explained when Bobby opened the door for her. Somehow simply walking in whenever she pleased seemed wrong with the Winchesters around. Besides, Jody had a shift to get to; she only wanted to give Bobby a heads-up that she had more work for them.

"Thanks," Bobby replied with a short, but sincere smile, "I... appreciate it."

"I... uh... I also wondered, if maybe..?" Jody started before she quickly abandoned her question at the first glimpse of Sam. The sheriff was not entirely sure if Bobby would welcome her offer to bring dinner for them. Asking and possibly being shot down while one of the Winchesters was listening would be too embarrassing.

"Hey Bobby, do you know a good tattoo artist..?" Sam asked before he saw Jody Mills standing in the doorway, "Am I disturbing something?"

The younger Winchester was in fact sure that he walked in at the worst possible moment, but there was nothing he could do against it now.

"No... no. I have a shift to get to," Jody quickly answered as she forced a smile, "See you later then."

"See you," Bobby replied a little awkwardly even though Jody was already on the way to her police cruiser.

"Are you and Sheriff Mills..?" Sam asked cautiously. The younger Winchester did not intend to stick his nose into something that was not his business, but if Bobby wanted to talk Sam had an open ear. It was unlikely that Dean would appreciate a talk about any kind of romance Bobby and the sheriff might have going on, short of mocking it.

"What do you need a tattoo artist for?" Bobby countered with a question of his own. The old hunter was not blind to the developing relationship he had going with the sheriff, but it was hard to say where it was going to go. Both of them had lost their spouses recently. Bobby was still grieving and he knew Jody was as well. At the same time there definitely was attraction between them. It was hard to make sense of the entire situation, but Bobby would be damned if he needed help from one of the masters of unresolved sexual tension! Even if it had eventually been resolved in Sam's case.

"Gabriel," Sam shrugged, "If he's going to keep hunting with us, he needs protection."

The younger Winchester decided to back off the topic of Sheriff Mills for the moment. Bobby was old enough to know what he was doing and generally wise enough to know when he needed to talk things over. Sam still vowed to try to give Bobby and Jody as much privacy as possible.

 

* * *

 

 

The tattoo parlor Bobby recommended was run by a middle aged, heavily tattooed man who did not bat an eye when Sam showed him the design for the anti-possession tattoo. The younger Winchester was not completely sure if the man knew what the tattoo was for or if he had simply seen too many strange things people wanted to have permanently inked on their skin to still raise an eyebrow over pentagrams. On second thought, Sam should have asked Bobby for more information on the tattooist, but as long as the tattoo did its job in the end it would not matter what the man did or did not know. In fact, something Gabriel might not take into consideration seemed much more important that moment.

"You haven't had a lot of experience with pain yet," Sam stated in a warning tone when the tattoo artist left them alone for a minute to prepare everything. The younger Winchester did not want to unnecessarily scare his partner, but Gabriel should know what he was getting into. The former archangel seemed a little too eager to finally have his own anti-possession tattoo, so Sam did not believe he even spared a thought to the pain that was sure to come with someone putting ink under his skin with the help of needles.

"Hey, I've had my share of paper cuts, stubbed toes and let's not forget that sunburn," Gabriel replied dismissively, before he added with a grin, "Not to mention what you put me through yesterday. This can't be so much worse."

Sam huffed out a chuckle as he shook his head exaggeratedly. Of course Gabriel would get through the procedure. All Sam wanted was to prepare his partner for what was to come, but if Gabriel decided to disregard the younger Winchester's warning that was the former archangel's own fault.

"Besides, I've got you to hold my hand," Gabriel stated with a smile, taking hold of Sam's hand just as the tattoo artist returned. Fact was the former archangel was looking forward to having a visible sign on his skin that said he was a part of the team. If he had to endure a little pain for that, so be it.

The tattooist got to work as soon as Gabriel shed his shirt and sat down which the former archangel was grateful for. Gabriel wanted and needed that tattoo, delaying the inevitable would not lessen the pain.

"It's okay Gabe, even Dean cursed like a sailor when we got ours," Sam smiled encouragingly as he squeezed Gabriel's hand. Everyone dealt with pain differently and it just so happened that Dean's usual coping mechanism involved a whole lot of colorful swear words.

"What about you?" Gabriel asked, putting a brave smile on his face even as the tattoo artist kept torturing him. The former archangel was sure that a few of his nightmares would center around the sound of the needle in the future.

"Silent tears of manly pain," Sam replied completely seriously.

Gabriel could not stop himself from laughing out loud much to the dismay of the tattooist. If anyone asked in the future Gabriel would claim that the man pressed the needle against his skin much harder than strictly necessary, but for the time being he would take Sam's suggestion and go through all the curses in all the languages he still could remember.


	15. Chapter 15

**14**

 

"This is boring," Dean complained as he put another file aside. The pile he still had to go through did not seem to get any smaller no matter how many of them he discarded! The oldest Winchester had not allowed himself to consider that all the people he was looking at had been reported missing. The task at hand was already incredibly boring, there was no use making it depressing to boot. "Why do I have to do all the work?"

The oldest Winchester was retroactively starting to appreciate all the research Sam had done basically on his own. It wasn't that Dean could not do it himself, but it was a part of hunting he simply did not enjoy.

"You know what Raphael and Lucifer look like," Bobby pointed out without looking up from the police reports he and Jody were working on. The old hunter would gladly offer his assistance, if he had ever seen one of the missing archangels in person. As things were Bobby simply could not identify either Lucifer or Raphael and Dean just was complaining for complaining sake.

"So does Sammy and I don't see him being bored to death by paperwork!" Dean shot back, though he realized it was a childish thing to do. However the oldest Winchester's point still stood. Sam should prove that he was a good younger brother and take over at least half of the files. Actually, Gabriel could show that he was useful by taking the other half while Dean worked on the Impala. Baby was due for a thorough inspection and Dean felt bad neglecting her.

"What are you, ten?" Bobby retorted, finally looking up from his own stack of papers to shoot the oldest Winchester a pointed look. The old hunter sighed. Working alone with Jody had been productive and peaceful. Dean had only been on paperwork duty for one day, but Bobby already missed those times.

"Just saying that I could've come up with an excuse for why I can't look at missing people reports all day too," Dean commented, raising his hands defensively. Sam and Gabriel were only excused from this because they successfully convinced Bobby that Gabriel's fight training had to take first priority with some kind of safety bull. Especially when Dean could identify the former archangels by himself as well. Not that Dean wanted to be involved with Gabriel's fight training instead. The oldest Winchester suspected that Gabriel would not be above resorting to unfair fighting methods with Dean as his trainer. Granted, the former archangel might fight dirty with Sam as well, but the oldest Winchester suspected that his younger brother was not in danger of being kneed in the crotch other than maybe by himself.

"More like five," Jody chuckled. The sheriff's eyes met Bobby's over their own stacks of papers as they both smiled amusedly.

Dean groaned loudly and put another file aside. What was it with everybody around him hooking up all of a sudden? Where the hell was Cas anyway? Dean had not even heard a word from the angel which was just bad form after the oldest Winchester prayed to him personally. Thinking about it, Castiel knew what Lucifer looked like as well. That gave Dean a good reason to demand the blue-eyed seraph come down to Earth to help him, right? The oldest Winchester was already mentally preparing the prayer he would send to his friend as he opened the next file.

"Wait... this one looks..." Dean stated with a deep frown, "Yeah, definitely Lucifer."

The oldest Winchester hardly recognized the man without the melting face, but on second glance it definitely was Lucifer. Or rather it was Nick, Lucifer's vessel. Bobby and Jody stood behind Dean as he leafed through the file. It was mostly a matter of principle. Lucifer would hardly go and hide out in the old home of his vessel or anything alike. It was interesting to see who the man who became the devil's vessel was though.

"Pike Creek comes up a little often lately," Bobby huffed as his eyes fell on the last known whereabouts, namely the man's family home in Pike Creek, Delaware. The old hunter might be overreacting, but he made a mental note to add Pike Creek to the list of places to keep an eye on. There definitely were some towns that were like magnets to all things weird.

"Becky and the devil's vessel," Dean snorted, "Now that's a fitting combination if I've ever seen one."

* * *

 

"I think I found the phone number," Gracie announced. The little girl had to wait until her mother had gotten one of her very important phone calls from work to go to the computer and google the name Lucifer had given to her. It was a good thing that her angel also gave her a location to add to her search, because otherwise Gracie would have come back to Lucifer with a very long list of people.

"Good," Lucifer replied. The former archangel forced a small smile on his face. The girl had done well and she was taking a risk every time she did something for Lucifer. The former archangel had not considered that part for the longest time, but once it hit him that Grace went behind her mother's back for him at every turn he could not help liking her even a little bit more for it.

"What do I say on the phone?" Gracie asked with a thoughtful frown. There were a lot of things the girl could tell her contact, but she was not sure how much of that Lucifer wanted them to know.

"Just tell him you've got Lucifer in your playhouse," Lucifer huffed out a laugh even though it hurt, "Betcha they'll come running."

The former archangel was sure that he had reached the absolute height of indignity, but it had to be done. Even if Lucifer did not come out of this alive -which was the most likely outcome in his opinion- Gracie would not have to deal with the mess. Realistically, if the girl had a dead man in her playhouse and it turned out he had been there for quite some time with Grace spending time with him every day, she would be in for the hell of a lot of trouble. It was better to have someone else pick him up before it came that far. Maybe they could even make Grace believe that his leaving was a good thing.

"What're they gonna do to help ya?" Gracie asked in a concerned tone. The girl did not see how some strangers would be able to do what Lucifer claimed a doctor could not achieve. Gracie concluded that her angel might know some special angel doctor, but it would be good to know for sure.

"They know how to find other angels," Lucifer replied honestly. The problem was that the former archangel had no idea what any of the other angels would do once they got their fingers on him. Scratch that, Lucifer had a pretty good idea what the angels would most likely do to him. He had been made the bad guy of the story, the one solely responsible for the end of peace and quiet in heaven. There was little hope that the angel Lucifer was most likely to encounter if the phone call was successful would see things differently.

"And they'll help you?" Gracie wanted to know as she looked at Lucifer with big, hopeful eyes.

Lucifer nodded, faking a smile to give the impression he was more certain than he actually was. For some reason the former archangel had a hard time lying to the girl. They called him the prince of lies, but the truth was nobody had taken the time to get to know him well enough to be able to tell when he was lying in ages and Gabriel had actually been the best liar when he was still in heaven. Sometimes Lucifer felt like Grace could look right through him and the most surprising part was that she seemed to like what she saw.

Gracie looked unconvinced for a moment before she declared, "I'll go back in and call soon as mommy is distracted for a minute, promise!"

In the end there was nothing else she could do for her angel and if he said it was the right thing to do Gracie trusted him.

* * *

 

"I'm not sure this is a realistic scenario," Gabriel huffed, as he tried to use his upper arm strength to get Sam to release the hold he had on him. As it turned out, the former archangel's upper arm strength was nearly nonexistent, which explained why Sam did not even budge keeping his steel like grip on Gabriel's upper arms. Usually, Gabriel would not dream of complaining about his partner hugging him from behind, but the point of this was for the former archangel to prove he could get out of the hold. "The average demon isn't a giant like you."

"We've met quite a few who were bigger than I am," Sam pointed out casually, "Besides, the average demon won't show any concern for your wellbeing. It evens out."

The younger Winchester had been happy to see that Gabriel was pretty good with handling knives, especially after it turned out that the former archangel would need a lot of practice before he could hit the far side of a barn with a gun. Still, Gabriel was not completely helpless as long as he had a knife with him, which was good to know. In fact, the archangel hinted that he knew a few runes and sigils to carve into knives to sort of replicate the effect of the demon killing knife they had, which was even better to know.

"Are you really saying you're going easy on me?" Gabriel replied disbelievingly as he puffed out his chest and renewed his efforts to get out of his partner's grip. It was definitely a good thing that Sam could not see the small smirk that crossed the former archangel's face.

"Actually... ugh," Sam started before he was cut off by having the air punched out of his lungs suddenly and unexpectedly. The younger Winchester could not even say for sure how Gabriel did it, but one moment Sam had him basically at his mercy and the next the former archangel knocked him off his feet.

"Never forget, muffin, I made a living fooling people into thinking I was weaker and less capable than I am," Gabriel stated with a nice smile as he pinned Sam to the ground. The former archangel realized during their training that it was more important than it had ever been to utilize the strengths he knew he had. Gabriel knew he was good at bullshitting people, so that was one skill he could use to work in his advantage. Speaking of things the former archangel was good at and that he could use to his advantage while he had Sam lying beneath him mostly defenseless...

"Gabe... stop! Oh my... stop it!" the younger Winchester yelled between fits of laughter, "You can't... you... you can't... tickle demons... into submission!"

"But it works just fine with you."

* * *

 

"I'm so done with this shit," Dean groaned, pushing the stack of files he still had to go through away in disgust. The high over finding Lucifer's vessel had been short-lived, as they still had a second archangel to find. Dean considered claiming that he could not remember what Raphael looked like, but it was highly unlikely that Bobby would fall for it. In fact, the old hunter shot Dean a critical look when he got up and left the table. Somehow Bobby never failed to make Dean feel like he was a little kid again. It probably had to do with the old hunter being a surrogate father for them and all that...

"Okay okay, just getting myself a beer," Dean gave a long suffering sigh, before he left the room and -as soon as he was sure he would not be heard- muttered, "Slave-driver."

At least the oldest Winchester had his one success to rub into his younger brother's face as soon as Sam and Gabriel came back inside. Archangels found by Dean: one. Archangels found by Sammy: Zero. Gabriel did not count! If anything that was Cas' find.

"Oh c'mon, that's what they call training?" Dean groaned loudly as he passed by a window overlooking the backyard. The oldest Winchester never assumed that Sam was going to put Gabriel through a training routine worthy of John Winchester, but what they were doing had nothing to do with training at all! In fact, it looked more like they were fooling around. Dean shuddered and quickly looked away. He really did not need to see any of that. It was bad enough that he heard them the other night!

"And you're calling your brothers bitchy," Bobby stated as he huffed out a laugh, "Pot meet kettle."

In theory the old hunter agreed with the oldest Winchester. It did not look like Sam and Gabriel were training hard -or at all- but Bobby could not bring himself to disapprove when one of his boys was happy and carefree for once. In fact, Bobby took over some or all of Dean's duties to give the oldest Winchester the chance to just tinker with his beloved car every so often as well. Sam generally was the one who was on research duty with Bobby at those times, so it only seemed fair to do it the other way around too.

"Oh very funny," Dean retorted with a completely unimpressed expression that he would have dubbed a bitch-face if Sam had been the one to pull it, "Why is everybody always on their side these days?"

The oldest Winchester was still sulking -though he would never call it that if anybody asked- when they returned to Bobby's study. Apparently the sheriff and the old hunter had been busy while Dean went to get his beer. The piles for possible hauntings and monsters had definitely grown since the oldest Winchester had looked at them last.

Bobby's phone rang before either one of them managed to get back to their stacks of papers.

"Singer Salvage Yard," Bobby said automatically as he answered the phone.

"Hello," Gracie greeted, her voice immediately giving away how nervous she was even before she quickly added, "I've got Lucifer hiding in my playhouse."

The little girl had to wait for her mother to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner before she could sneak into her mother's home office to use her landline. Gracie knew she was not supposed to call anyone before she asked her mother, but her parents also told her that the exception to that rule was when there was an emergency. This was clearly an emergency!

"If this is a joke..." Bobby replied in a gruff tone, which immediately got Dean's and Jody's attention.

"No, really, he told me to google and call ya," Gracie exclaimed, before she remembered to keep her voice down, "You have to come to my house quick!"

"You'll have to tell me your name and address for that," Bobby pointed out, trying to soften his tone. The caller was awfully young and getting desperate judged from her voice. If the old hunter assumed she was telling the truth, the girl had good reasons to be desperate. Having the devil on your property could not be good news. Besides, it was the best lead they had.

"My name's Grace Carter and I live..." Gracie quickly told Bobby. The girl could hear her mother coming up the stairs, so she had to be fast. Gracie could not let her mother know what she was doing or her mom would demand to see Lucifer and then the whole plan would fail. The girl was sure her mother would not simply allow the angel to stay in Gracie's playhouse for another day or two until the people who would help him came.

"Gracie, what are you doing?" Nadine asked with a deep frown as she entered her office. Gracie knew she was not supposed to play in here and she was definitely not allowed to play with the phone, let alone call anyone without asking first. "Who's on the phone?"

"... grandma?" Gracie replied. The girl cringed as soon as the lie left her mouth, realizing it did not sound believable in the least. Gracie could leave out certain details, like the fact she had spent so much time in her playhouse drawing, reading and doing homework because Lucifer was there, but she always had troubles lying to her mother. Her father always said that there was no reason to lie to your family, because you had to own up to your actions and your family had to love and support you no matter what it was about. Following her father's philosophy, Gracie had very little experience with lying to her family.

"Don't lie to me, Grace!" Nadine stated in a stern tone.

"You gotta come quick!" Gracie nearly yelled into the phone before she quickly hung up. It would get her into more trouble, but she could not let her mother get the chance to speak to the man as well. Maybe Gracie could lie her way out of this after all, or she could invoke her right to remain silent -a term she picked up from her mother to begin with, so she would have to honor it. Then it was only a matter of time until Lucifer got the help he needed. Her mother would understand why Gracie had to act like she did once everything was dealt with. She had to!

"I'll be damned," Bobby muttered, scratching the side of his head after he hung up. They had a name and a phone number which should be enough to find the home address of the girl, especially with Jody's help. "You're not going to believe this."


	16. Chapter 16

**15**

 

Sam threw a look over his shoulder toward the backseat. Long car rides apparently made Gabriel sleepy and since he was the only one sitting in the backseat the former archangel decided to lie down and take a nap. To his credit, Dean did not play his favorite Metallica tape at the same earbusting volume he usually did. The older Winchester enjoyed the peace and quiet that sat in once Gabriel fell asleep by far too much to risk waking the former archangel up again. It wasn't that Dean hated Gabriel, he honestly didn't, but the former archangel was a jokester who could not stand to keep quiet for long. Neither Sam nor Dean usually felt the need to fill every moment with noise -especially not by talking- so having someone overly chatty in the car with them was another thing the older Winchester still had to get used to.

"Hey Cas, we're on the way to pick up Lucifer. Just thought you might want to know," Dean directed another quick prayer upstairs a few minutes later. Gabriel claimed it was more about the intention than the actual wording when it came to what an angel could and could not hear, so Dean figured his messages should have been getting through to Castiel. However, the oldest Winchester had little hope that his angelic buddy would swing his ass down to Earth anytime soon. Cas had completely ignored him before after all.

"Hello Dean, Sam," Castiel's voice suddenly came from the backseat, making both Winchesters first flinch and then turn their heads around quickly, "Gabriel."

Gabriel woke up with a start. The former archangel sat up quickly, ready to fight. At least he planned to do that. Luckily Gabriel realized that he was still in the backseat of the Impala and that the disturbance had only been caused by his little brother before he panicked, instead the former archangel commented dryly, "You are sitting on my legs."

"My apologies," Castiel replied before he awkwardly tried to stand enough for Gabriel to pull his legs out from under him.

"Oh of course, one mention of Lucifer and you come running immediately," Dean huffed once the initial surprise over the blue-eyed seraph's sudden appearance passed and both Gabriel and Castiel were seated comfortably.

"It turned out that more things in heaven were 'fucked up' than we first assumed," Castiel explained in a nearly reprimanding tone, raising his hands to mimic quotation marks, "My apologies for not 'texting' you, Dean."

"Did you take lessons in sarcasm while you were up there?" Dean snorted even as he cleared his throat awkwardly. It made sense that Castiel had to set priorities and sometimes hanging out with friends could not be his prime concern. It probably was just a little childish of Dean to expect Cas to come running the moment he prayed to him when it was only about the two of them having a beer and watching a movie. The oldest Winchester missed his angelic buddy, so sue him! Besides, it should have been Dean who taught Castiel more about sarcasm and definitely not that douchebag Balthazar!

"How's it going upstairs, bro?" Gabriel asked, concern lacing his voice. Whatever went down in heaven was not exactly the former archangel's business -and hadn't been in ages- but Gabriel was the one to cause the latest tumult, so he felt responsible. Not that there was anything much the former archangel could do to help restore peace and order. However, Gabriel could provide some brotherly advice, if Castiel required it.

"Things are looking up," Castiel answered, giving his brother a small smile, "Negotiations with Naomi failed, so I had to release her of her duties. Balthazar appointed himself motivational speaker and ambassador of all things human. He has won over most of our more liberal brothers and sisters. We temporarily banned all angels from going to Earth without a direct order to do so, but I expect to lift this limitation soon."

Castiel and Balthazar agreed that they wanted all their brothers and sisters to have all the freedom they could offer them, but a new system had to be established first. The angels had to understand that free will was not synonymous with being out of control. There were rules and guidelines to follow, but they no longer affected every single aspect of the angels' lives. As soon as they internalized that concept the angels who wanted to visit Earth would be allowed to while the others were allowed to choose freely if they ever wanted to interact with humans outside of their duties.

"Promise them sex, drugs and rock'n'roll and suddenly humanity looks pretty sweet, huh?" Dean laughed, grinning at Castiel in the rearview mirror. The oldest Winchester would not give Balthazar credit for anything -at least he would not let it be known that he did- but he could imagine the annoying douchebag being good at advertising the upsides of a peaceful coexistence with humanity and all it had to offer.

"You said you were on the way to collect Lucifer?" Castiel stated seriously, bringing the topic back to the reason he had responded to the call immediately. The blue-eyed seraph was looking forward to the day when he would have enough time to sit down and explain the changes heaven underwent to Dean over a cheeseburger and a glass of eggnog, but there were clearly other matters that needed to be addressed.

"So get this, some little girl called Bobby and said he was at her house," Sam explained. They had not gotten many details, but knowing the address Lucifer was at was the most important thing anyway. The younger Winchester hadn’t found the situation as funny as other members of their group. The very fact that the devil was reaching out was a bit worrisome.

"Actually, she said Lucy was in her playhouse," Gabriel added with a grin. The former archangel and the oldest Winchester both laughed heartily when they heard that little detail. Chances were the situation would not be humorous once they knew everything about it, but a little girl saying that she had the devil in her playhouse and wanted someone to come pick him up was hilarious.

"Right," Dean chuckled, before he cleared his throat and added more seriously, "Anyway, we should be there in about an hour."

"I see," Castiel replied with a thoughtful frown after a long moment of consideration. The humor of the situation evaded the blue-eyed seraph. Lucifer, even with the limitations of a human body, was a dangerous and cunning foe. "I think Balthazar should be involved in this."

Dean only managed an audible groan before the sound of wings announced that the annoying douchebag had already appeared. To be fair, the picture of Gabriel, Balthazar and Castiel made sitting cramped next to each other in the backseat Dean saw reflected in the rearview mirror was nearly funny enough to make it worth having the British angel around.

"Cassy, not that I don't appreciate any and all orders coming from my commander, but I was in the middle of a lecture on the pleasures of..." Balthazar started to snark before his blue-eyed brother interrupted him. The blonde angel never even got the chance to point out that it was only due to his preparedness that he had an interesting DVD to put on for their brothers and sisters to watch in his absence.

"Lucifer has been found," Castiel pointed out, ending Balthazar's rant before he could go into any of the crude details he was so fond of. One of these days the trench coat-clad seraph would have to take a good look at the so called curriculum Balthazar put together.

"Ah," Balthazar replied ineloquently. It did not sound like the matter would be dealt with as quickly as first assumed. Balthazar would have to let the other angels know that they could go do whatever they wanted after the movie was over. Or they could watch some more films from Balthazar's private stash, whatever struck their fancy.

"Sam, remind me that if we ever have kids, no more than one," Gabriel suddenly stated, "It gets crowded with three people in the backseat."

Sam laughed even as his older brother cringed at the thought. It took some creative maneuvering until the younger Winchester managed to get his hand through the space between the seat and the door so Gabriel could hold it. Simple contact always mellowed the former archangel out a little. They still had an hour to go and too many people who liked to snark at each other in such a confined space, so it seemed like a good idea to keep at least one of them happy and somewhat complacent.

 

* * *

 

 

Castiel and Balthazar had taken it upon themselves to inspect the inside of the main house after their knocking and ringing had gone unanswered. Theoretically, the humans were supposed to wait for the angels to give them the all clear, but of course Dean and Gabriel started to walk around the house the moment Castiel and Balthazar disappeared. The wooden shed they found in the backyard was as empty as the house seemed to be.

"You think Lucifer really lived in here for the past few weeks?" Dean snorted as he took in the interior of the wooden playhouse. In size and appearance it could have been a normal garden shed, but all the girly stuff inside spoke a different language. Other than stuffed animals, a couple dolls, books and art supplies there were also things that spoke of an adult male spending time in it. There was some dirty laundry that definitely did not come from a little girl for one.

"Looks like it," Sam replied as he picked up one of the mostly empty, little orange bottles. The younger Winchester could not be completely sure, but he thought he was holding very strong painkillers by the labels.

"Dude, that's... actually that's hilarious," Dean laughed, disturbing his younger brother's thoughts about his discovery, "C'mon, it's a playhouse... and... is that... finger paint?"

The oldest Winchester ran a finger over the closest sigil. The purple paint had dried up, but it most likely came from the containers of finger paint on the table. Dean wished they had come here sooner so they could have seen Lucifer up close and personal in his new home, but as things were picturing the scene was funny enough.

"How the mighty have fallen," Gabriel huffed with a crooked smile.

 

* * *

 

 

Nosy neighbors were another reason why Dean actually liked life on the road. The thought that someone was living next to him day in and day out, observing what he was doing made Dean shiver. However, in this case they were lucky that a nosy -or helpful, whichever- neighbor saw an ambulance in front of the house a couple hours earlier. From what the old woman said the mother and daughter looked healthy, which could not be said for the stranger they wheeled out of the house on a gurney. Dean counted all of that as good news. They knew where Lucifer most likely was, the devil would be under surveillance at the hospital and if Lucifer was the only one who had been harmed in some visible way, which was nothing to lose sleep about.

"I'm agent Willis and those are agents Long and Winstead," Dean told the woman the receptionist pointed out to him, "Did your daughter call Mr. Singer about a man in her playhouse?"

The woman was probably in her thirties and had the same curly hair, though much shorter, as the little girl standing next to her. From Dean's point of view she had the kind of strict teacher or librarian look going on that would give Sammy sleepless nights, if his sleepless nights were not occupied with a horny archangel these days. The oldest Winchester had to prevent himself from visibly shuddering at that thought.

"Oh god," Nadine blanched noticeably as she looked at the three agents in front of her, "He's a criminal, isn't he?"

"He's not!" Gracie exclaimed as she vehemently pulled on the sleeve of her mother's jacket to make sure her statement got the attention it deserved, "Mom, I told you he's not bad!"

"So, you must be Gracie," Gabriel smiled at the little girl. The kid obviously liked Lucifer and while that came as a surprise, it was a pleasant one. Gabriel was dying to hear more about his brother from the girl's perspective. Just maybe there was hope for Lucifer yet.

"Yes," Gracie confirmed with a few quick nods before she hurried to say, "And I called because Lucifer told me to. He needs help and he said the doctors won't be able to help, so he needs someone else and..."

"Gracie, stop," Nadine interrupted her daughter in a tone that was part helplessness, part annoyance. After hours spent in the hospital because Gracie simply would not leave and because Nadine felt responsible for things that happened on her property, her patience was wearing a little thin. However she consistently pushed the thought that she had work to do aside. There was a life at stake, even if it was the life of... whatever exactly it was the man was. Her daughter insisted Lucifer was her friend and had promised that he never asked her to do anything to him or for him that Gracie did not want to do. Nadine wanted to believe that the man was an out of his luck guy who only needed a place to stay and liked children in a completely innocent way, but the fact that he called himself Lucifer really spoke against it. Sometimes Nadine honestly wished she was better at kidding herself...

"It's okay Ma'am, maybe agent Winstead could take your daughter to the vending machine. Get some candy while we're talking," Sam suggested, giving the woman one of the compassionate smiles that tended to give people the feeling that there was someone who understood them and everything would be okay.

"I... guess," Nadine replied sounding uncertain. Leaving her daughter alone with a federal agent might be a bad idea for many reasons, but refusing could spell trouble for them as well. Nadine was a lawyer by trade, but her area of expertise was property law.

"Mom! I don't wanna go nowhere else," Gracie immediately protested, "He's my friend and my angel and I found him!"

"It's okay kiddo," Gabriel tried to appease the kid as he put a hand on her shoulder, "C'mon, I've got a craving for chocolate."

"This is all my fault," Nadine sighed just as the agent led her daughter away. After all, if Gracie had not been left to her own devices quite so frequently, Nadine would have caught on to something strange going on much faster. It was hard to be a single mother.

 

* * *

 

 

"Okay, we can talk openly now," Gabriel said in a conspiratorial whisper as soon as he and Gracie crossed the corner, "I'm Lucifer's brother, Gabriel."

"You're an angel too?" Gracie asked, her eyes widening in wonder even before she realized that the help Lucifer actually needed had finally arrived and she added eagerly, "So you're going to help him?"

It suddenly hit Gracie that she would not have recognized Lucifer as an angel, if she had not seen him fall from heaven. Angels somehow looked exactly like normal people, though the one in front of her had really cool golden eyes. Gabriel also looked nice, she it felt safe in assuming that he was going to make Lucifer all better so Gracie could take him back home with her... after she convinced her mother.

"Yes, but first you've got to tell me where he is and what happened," Gabriel replied, smiling. The former archangel was still trying to get over the fact that Lucifer somehow managed to get a little girl to genuinely like and care for him. Gabriel always had the hope that Michael and Raphael would deal with being human well enough, but he doubted Lucifer could get over himself long enough to make positive contacts. Apparently, Gabriel should have had more faith in his older brother.

"Mommy caught me on the phone 'nd I coul'n't lie to her anymore," Gracie admitted with a sigh, "Then mom wanted to call the police, but when she saw Lucy she called the ambu-lance instead."

After a lot of whining and throwing the single most impressive temper tantrum of her young life, Gracie's mother finally agreed to take her to the hospital. Of course, Nadine told Gracie to stay back and wait while her mother went to speak to the nurse and doctor, but the little girl mastered the art of being quiet and sneaky a long time ago. Gracie generally tried to be quiet during the afternoons so her mother could work undisturbed, it was just a coincidence that the skill she acquired for all the right reasons also came in handy when she broke the rules.

"They think I wasn't listenin', but I was and they said it's lookin' bad and that maybe..." Gracie added in a choked up tone.

"That won't happen," Gabriel stated in a determined tone.

 

* * *

 

 

Castiel and Balthazar only took one short look into Lucifer's hospital room. The former archangel had several tubes and monitors attached to him and seemed to be asleep.

"If our father wanted Lucifer to live, He would have given him a body able to survive," Castiel stated with more conviction than he felt after they closed the door and stood in the hallway again. The seraph had to admit that their father's ways were truly mysterious, but even if God did not want Lucifer to die soon after becoming human He apparently left the decision whether to heal him or not in the other angels hands. As things were, the angel who had to make the decision was Castiel.

"So, we're not going to heal him?" Balthazar asked with a shrug. In all honesty, it surprised the British seraph to hear Castiel's opinion on the matter, but Balthazar didn't care if Lucifer lived or died as long as he did not have anything to do with it.

"It seems unwise," Castiel confirmed with a tight nod. Lucifer was dangerous, even if his possibilities to cause harm were greatly reduced. Under Crowley's rule heaven and hell had at least a precarious peace agreement, none of that would count if Lucifer returned to his post.

"No!" Gracie wailed, looking at the two angels in shock and betrayal for a moment before she broke free of Gabriel's grasp and fled into the room where they kept Lucifer. Those could not be the people her angel told her about. The real ones would come soon and they would help Lucifer! In the meantime Gracie would stay with her angel to make sure that none of those horrible people got close to him, even if she had to kick, scream, scratch and bite to achieve that. Gracie barely resisted the urge to bang the door close after her, but they were still in a hospital.

Castiel looked after the girl baffled, while Gabriel continued to look at him as if he was in shock. Only Balthazar appeared unaffected. Once Gabriel got over the initial -very negative- surprise he was looking at Castiel like he just stabbed him in the back and the girl's reaction left no room for interpretation either.

"Am I being unreasonable, Balthazar?" Castiel asked with a deep frown.

"Is it unreasonable to want to let Lucifer croak? Cassy please, I'm completely with you in this. He's a traitor, a backstabber, a murderer... He is Satan, literally," Balthazar replied casually, before he met Castiel's eyes and added, "However, in the eyes of that little girl... right now, we're the bad guys."


	17. Chapter 17

**16**

 

"Are you serious?" Gabriel asked in a deceptively quiet tone. The former archangel felt like yelling, he did and while this was definitely the time for it, a hospital was not the right place.

"Lucifer is dangerous," Castiel insisted, facing his older brother's wrath with a stony face.

"He's just a human being!" Gabriel exclaimed, looking toward Balthazar for support. The former archangel realized it was a foolish thing to do even before Balthazar raised his hands defensively. Of course his British accented brother wanted to be kept out of the argument. Gabriel could not even blame Balthazar for it, because Gabriel himself had preferred to stay neutral for the longest time too.

"His very existence is a threat to the new order we are fighting to establish!" Castiel retorted, raising his voice a little as well. The past weeks had not been easy for Castiel by any means, seeing everything they managed to accomplish, destroyed was an unbearable thought to the seraph. Castiel wasn't even sure how exactly Lucifer would disturb the new peace and order, but he was Lucifer, he would find a way. It was what Lucifer did after all.

"What about me? Am I a threat too?" Gabriel asked in a dangerously low tone. The former archangel knew that the changes Castiel and Balthazar made in heaven hinged on the fact that the old system had crumbled with the disappearance of the archangels. If any of them reappeared and managed to take their place again everything would either go back to how it had been, or they would have a new heavenly civil war on their hands.

"Your case is fundamentally different," Castiel replied without missing a beat. Not that it did anything to placate Gabriel.

"What about Michael and Raphael? Maybe we should stop looking for them, because they'll be better off if we never find them!" Gabriel ranted. The former archangel wanted all his brothers to live, dammit! Letting any of them die was never a part of the plan! Gabriel had some documents and funds set up for all of them to make their human life as pleasant as possible. The former archangel wanted them all to have a chance to live in peace and comfort.

"Gabriel, you are overreacting," Castiel sighed deeply, "Lucifer is..."

"My brother!" Gabriel interrupted his younger brother, before Castiel could stick his foot further down his throat, "Just like he's your brother!"

Besides, Gabriel learned from Gracie there was hope for Lucifer yet. If the devil could learn to like one human and make her like him back, he could learn to like a couple more or at least tolerate them. Gabriel wanted to give Lucifer the chance no matter how it turned out. His older brother deserved it just as much as any of them.

"We cannot allow that fact to blind us," Castiel insisted. The seraph wanted to believe just as much as Gabriel that each and every one of them had a good core, but he could not take the risk. They took a chance with Naomi, just to have her plot to take over within the first week. It was largely by chance they discovered her treachery early enough to stop her.

"I thought you were better than that," Gabriel stated, disappointment written all over his face.

"I am truly sorry to disappoint you," Castiel replied honestly. The trench coat-clad angel did not expect his older brother to metaphorically turn around and understand his point, but he had not expected him to literally turn around and leave either.

"Gabe, what...?" Sam asked alarmed as Gabriel rushed by without as much as looking at him. The brothers only just finished their talk with Nadine and went to take a look at Lucifer. It was obvious that Gabriel and Castiel were arguing, but Gabriel left before Sam and Dean had gotten close enough to hear what exactly they were talking about.

"Ah, never mind him," Balthazar shrugged casually, "Cassy's plan to file the Lucifer problem under d for 'done', 'dealt with' and 'dead' got Gabriel's knickers in a bunch."

"Seriously? He thought there was another option?" Dean asked with a snort. They were talking about the devil after all. Who knew how many of Lucifer's demons were loyal enough to him to follow him even as a human? Granted, Dean could do without Crowley as the king of hell, but the slimy bastard was right when he said that the devil they knew -and sort of had a questionable non-aggression pact with- was better than any alternative. Or in this case, the devil they knew was better than the other devil they knew.

"Dean!" Sam exclaimed in a warning tone. It was not that the younger Winchester wanted Lucifer to survive at any cost, but he could understand why Gabriel thought differently. Lucifer was his brother after all. Sam knew how much it meant to his partner to find all his fallen brothers and make sure they had good lives.

"Awesome, just awesome," Dean groaned, throwing his arms in the air. Apparently their team was split into two sides on the matter.

 

* * *

 

 

Lucifer blinked his eyes open with a groan. It took a while before the former archangel's eyes focused on the source of the noise that woke him from his sleep. Whatever it was they gave him, the medication sure helped against the pain. Though it also made Lucifer extremely groggy.

The former archangel had to clear his throat repeatedly before he found his voice. "What are you doing?"

Gracie had her back pressed against a cupboard that stood next to the door. It looked like the girl was trying to use the strength in her legs to move the towering, heavy oaken thing, with very limited success.

"'M tryin' to make it so they can't come in," Gracie explained, as she renewed her efforts to move the cupboard in front of the door. The little girl had decided that the other angels -if they even really were angels- could not enter the room, especially not while Lucifer was sleeping and unable to defend himself. Unfortunately everything around was either too easy or too hard to move, but that did not keep Gracie from trying her best.

"Of course," Lucifer huffed, blinking a couple more times before he added, "Why?"

Obviously something happened while the former archangel was out and Lucifer thought he should know what it was. The girl seemed to be very agitated which could not bode well for the former archangel. Apparently someone was planning something and Grace thought Lucifer had to be protected from it. The devil had -for the most part- made peace with the thought that he was going to die, but that did not mean he would let anyone accelerate the process, especially while Grace was watching.

"'Cause they can't getcha 'til the good guys arrive," Gracie answered heatedly. The little girl refused to believe that the guys she heard talking in the hallway were the good guys, so she was still waiting for their help to come. The mean poopheads outside had to be kept away from Lucifer until that happened and the best way to achieve that was to barricade the door.

"Cut the crap and come here," Lucifer commanded, though his voice sounded weak to his own ears. It did not help that his throat was parched, but the former archangel had more important things to deal with here. "You're giving me a headache."

Gracie's shoulders slumped in defeat as she moved away from the cupboard. The stupid thing had not moved at all, despite all her best efforts! The little girl begrudgingly sat in the plastic chair Lucifer had nodded towards with a pout. They should not waste time with talking here! They had to do something and since Lucifer was in no condition to leave the bed, Gracie had to do something. Maybe the cupboard had moved a little after all. With enough time she could...

"Now take a breath and tell me what the hell you're on about," Lucifer groaned as he tried to sit up. The former archangel had to admit painful defeat a couple of seconds later and settled for turning to the side enough to face the girl.

"The one guy... he said... they weren't gonna help ya!" Gracie sniffled. The girl tried to be brave and strong, but her eyes were brimming with tears. It was only a matter of time until they would fall.

"What guy?" Lucifer asked with a frown. Whatever medication he was on really had to be good, since the movement of frowning hardly caused the former archangel any pain. Lucifer smiled slightly as the realization hit him that he might have enjoyed a powerless existence if it included spending time with Grace and excluded most of the excruciating pain. He could have enjoyed it a little at least, anything that went further than that was only the drugs talking... or rather thinking.

"The one with the long coat," Gracie exclaimed, "Gabriel said they were gonna help ya and to bring him to you, but then there was that other guy and he said no and so they can't get in 'til someone better comes to help!"

Gracie's eyes wandered toward the cupboard again. She could still do this and then they would have more time to wait for the good guys to arrive.

"They're angels, doors won't stop them," Lucifer pointed out, before he took a deep breath and added, "And if they don't want to help me, they won't."

"But... but... you said... and... they have to..." Gracie stammered, looking at her angel in shock, "It's not fair!"

Anger marred the little girl's face. Lucifer realized with a start that he would have welcomed it not too long ago. Anger was one of the uglier emotions the humans his father was so fond of were more than capable of. It made them show their real face, in Lucifer's opinion. However, it looked completely wrong on Grace's face. It was not the little girl’s 'true face' and Lucifer knew it. The former archangel did not have to literally be able to see Grace's soul to know that there was nothing ugly about it. Maybe if Lilith had been more like this... maybe Lucifer would never have made the plan to corrupt and twist her, making that little dark part of her so big that everyone had to see it. Lilith had been Lucifer's ultimate proof how rotten all humans were at their core, but now he was faced with the proof that generalizations did not work even for humans.

"Don't be like that, Grace," Lucifer tried his best to smile at the kid as he extended his arm with difficulty to put his hand on top of her head. The former archangel was taken aback when the gesture was what pushed Grace over the edge and she started to cry in earnest.

"Look, I'm an angel. When I die, I basically just go home," Lucifer added after a few long moments of silence when the only sounds came from the beeping of the machines and Grace's broken sobbing. The little girl believed in heaven. Lucifer knew she firmly believed her father was in heaven –though not an angel- and while it still hurt he was gone, she knew he was happy up there. The former archangel could only hope that his little abomination would come to the same conclusion concerning him.

"Heaven's not that bad this time of the year," Lucifer assured the kid once she managed to look back at him with big, tear-filled eyes. If he was being honest, the former archangel would have to admit that he hardly remembered what heaven really was like. Peace and love had been tainted by conflict and hate long before Lucifer's final fall. The realization that he had played a key role in that rift between his brothers hurt the former archangel so deep in his heart he could have sworn it was actual physical pain. Of course, Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and a bunch of others were no less guilty, but... Why could Lucifer never see the 'but' before?

"B...but... but your home is h-here now," Gracie sobbed. The little girl was about to climb onto the bed to hug Lucifer when the door was opened abruptly.

Nadine's eyes widened when she saw her daughter sit next to the stranger again. The woman had hoped against hope that her daughter was smarter than this when Agent Winstead rushed by her on his way outside and Gracie was not with him. Nadine's instinct led her to the room of the John Doe -Nadine refused to call him Lucifer- her daughter seemed so fond of anyway. Why the hell had neither the other two agents nor the trench coat-clad man prevented her daughter from getting into the room? Nadine grabbed her daughter's shoulders and dragged her outside without giving Grace the chance to argue.

Gracie knew it was neither smart nor promising to fight against her mother, but the moment they passed Castiel by the little girl started to struggle in earnest. Lucifer knew this might be the last time he would ever see the girl and he would have preferred to see her smile, but seeing her try to kick Castiel's shin was good too. It was only too bad that the little abomination's legs were an inch or two too short for her foot to reach its goal.

"I do not believe you will gain entrance into heaven after death," Castiel stated emotionlessly once mother and daughter left the room and closed the door behind them. Sam and Dean were outside speaking to the woman once more. Walls did not keep Castiel from hearing what was spoken on the other side which was also how he was able to follow his older brother's conversation with the little girl.

"Neither do I," Lucifer snorted. The former archangel considered pointing out that listening in on private conversations was extremely rude, but he did not feel generous enough to teach his little brother a valuable lesson when Castiel came to end his life.

"Then why did you lie to the girl?" Castiel asked with a deep frown.

"Because it's the merciful thing to do, you dimwit!" Lucifer spat. If Grace was going to be devastated by Castiel's refusal to heal Lucifer, she would be destroyed by the knowledge that Lucifer had a one-way ticket to hell. If Lucifer could hardly stand to see Grace's light darkened by anger for a few moments, he could not bear knowing what the truth would permanently do to her.

"If you were in my place, what would you do?" Castiel inquired in tedium, tilting his head.

"Kill you, of course. Without second thought or remorse," Lucifer huffed, fixing his brother's deep blue eyes with his own icy blue ones, "Is that what you needed to hear to justify your actions?"

"I do not require justification. I have made up my mind already," Castiel replied in his trademark overly serious tone, "I simply thought you should consider the question."


	18. Chapter 18

**17**

 

Gabriel sat next to Gracie, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder. The kid could use some comfort, but the former archangel didn't know what to tell her. Gabriel had no control over how the situation would turn out. He could only try to plead with Castiel again, but with the limited success of their last conversation it was unlikely his little brother would listen to him next time.

Sam sighed as he crouched down in front of the little girl and his partner. Gabriel squeezed Sam's hand as the younger Winchester put it on the former archangel's knee. Unfortunately there was nothing Sam could do besides offer a little comfort.

"Hey, Castiel is one of us, he'll do the right thing," the younger Winchester stated with more conviction than he felt. Castiel seemed determined to not heal Lucifer and Dean was on the seraph's side. It was doubtful Castiel would change his mind under these circumstances, but there was still hope.

"So much sniveling over one bad apple," Balthazar clicked his tongue as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, "I don't even want to imagine what it'd look like if someone actually important was about to croak."

To be fair, Balthazar had witnessed firsthand what it was like when Gabriel felt the impact of one of Sam's all too frequent deaths and what it was like when the younger Winchester thought he lost Gabriel. Compared to those occasions their sniveling was only moderate that moment, but it still seemed like an overreaction considering who it was about. Now if Balthazar had been the one on his deathbed, he would understand the fuss, but of course Castiel would not have hesitated for a moment to heal him in that case.

Dean huffed out a humorless chuckle. The oldest Winchester came too close to actually agreeing with Balthazar much too often in the past hour for his liking. Luckily the douchebag always managed to voice his opinion in a way that kept Dean from agreeing completely. Just to be on the safe side the oldest Winchester vowed to give Adam a call to discuss Balthazar's overall douchy-ness. Dean could not risk losing one of the few things he and Adam had in common.

"Who are you?" Nadine finally asked in a hard but hushed tone. The more she saw of the people who claimed to be 'agents' the more Nadine doubted that they had anything to do with law enforcement of any kind. She did not have a reason to raise hell yet and Nadine really wanted to spare her daughter from going through any more stress, but she felt she had to finally know the truth of what was happening. "And don't even try to tell me you're actually FBI agents."

Somehow Nadine's carefully held together life was crumbling apart like a house of cards for the second time in less than a year and she was done with not knowing what was going on.

"Try to think less regular FBI and more... X-Files," Dean answered, flashing the woman one of his million watt smiles in an attempt to appease her.

"Angel squad, to be precise," Balthazar added casually.

Nadine pinched the bridge of her nose with a pained expression. The woman was not sure if she could take either one of them seriously, but things were screwed up either way.

"We'd better talk about this in private, after the situation is dealt with," Dean suggested, clearing his throat awkwardly. The oldest Winchester was sure he would have gotten somewhere with his winning smile, if not for the douchebag angel. At least, Dean felt more comfortable being vaguely annoyed at Balthazar than he did nearly agreeing with him.

Nadine was about to ask what exactly that was supposed to mean when Castiel and Lucifer came walking down the hallway.

"If you expect my endless gratefulness now..." Lucifer huffed. Maybe the former archangel would have felt like throwing his little brother a bone, if he had not hesitated to heal him quite so long. Castiel could have spared Lucifer and Grace a lot of grief. The former archangel would have been grateful, if his little abomination never had to cry her eyes out for him. Of course, if it never came that far Lucifer would not have known that the option was even in the cards, but the former archangel decided to ignore that fact.

"I have few positive expectations when it comes to you and being thankful definitely is not one of them," Castiel retorted without batting an eye. There was only one reason the trench coat-clad seraph decided to heal Lucifer after all and that reason was racing toward them with a big smile on her face.

"Yay!" Gracie exclaimed as she leapt into Lucifer's arms.

Lucifer liked to think it was mostly due to reflex that he not only caught the kid despite everyone watching, but also held her securely so she would not fall. They would definitely have to have a serious discussion about public displays of affection such as this. Lucifer had a reputation to uphold. Not that he cared about it too much for the most part anymore, but he still had his boundaries.

"I want... No, I _demand_ an explanation!" Nadine growled as she fought to keep her voice down. It would not do any of them any good to attract too much attention, but all this was overwhelming.

"Uh... yes, of course," Sam replied appeasingly, before he added apologetically, "Let's just go back to your place first."

Nadine nodded tightly. On the one hand the woman wanted nothing more than to take Gracie, return to their home and forget any of this ever happened, but on the other hand she knew closure was needed. Not only for her daughter, but for herself as well. All this stopped making sense long ago. The least those strangers could do was to give Nadine an explanation that would let her sleep at night.

"The Impala can only hold five people," Dean stated when they made their way outside.

Gracie walked beside her mother, but her gaze didn't veer from Lucifer the entire time. The little girl perked up noticeably at the mention of her angel needing a ride.

"You're not asking me to...?" Nadine asked, glaring at the oldest Winchester.

"Of course someone else could ride with you too," Dean replied with a shrug, "But you know as they say, better the devil you know..."

If looks could kill, the oldest Winchester would have dropped dead then and there.

 

* * *

 

 

"This feels very confining," Castiel stated matter-of-factly, though there was the hint of a whine in his tone. The trench coat-clad seraph pulled on one side of his beloved coat to yank it free from under Balthazar's thigh. Every time the Impala moved too abruptly or Balthazar simply shifted, Castiel was forced to move along or risk tearing his coat. The seraph did not like this predicament one little bit.

"Say it as it is, this is ridiculous," Lucifer snorted. Would it have killed Nadine to allow him to occupy her backseat? Lucifer had been occupying the woman's garden shed for about two weeks and she had not even noticed, what was the big deal with him sitting in the backseat?

"Could you all just...?" Gabriel asked as he tried to push Lucifer a little more to the side. The backseat was definitely not designed for four fully grown men, but the former archangel did not see why he should have to be the shoved in one-too-many. He had been in this car first, dammit! Alright, second, after Castiel.

"What are you even complaining about? You're the smallest one of us!" Balthazar snarked, pushing Lucifer back towards Gabriel until the devil glared at him. The seraph with the British accent realized that there was very little Lucifer could do to him under the circumstances, but old fears died hard. Balthazar had basically grown up with the stories of the fallen archangel and what he could do to any who opposed him.

"Small, but sturdy. I need space too!" Gabriel insisted.

"Hey!" Lucifer exclaimed automatically when his younger brother rammed one of his elbows into the devil's side. Granted, the former fallen archangel's body had been healed completely, but Gabriel had remarkably pointy elbows. Lucifer might have gained the insight that he had done wrong in the past in the past weeks, but that did not mean he had to suffer in silence and allow any of his brothers to give him new bruises.

"Ouch!" Gabriel complained when Lucifer stomped on his foot.

"You yobs are cramping my style!" Balthazar yelled, completely losing his countenance when Lucifer was pushed against him even harder than before.

"Personal space!" Castiel demanded as strongly as he could while his face was pressed against one of the side windows of the Impala.

"Sam, take a picture!" Dean stated with a grin. The oldest Winchester had admittedly not been happy when Nadine refused to let any of them and especially Lucifer into her car, but as things were they could make the best out of a bad situation. The picture of the four angels fighting over space in the backseat, if Sam got his ass in gear and snapped one before one of the winged angels realized they did not have to travel by car, would make Dean laugh for years to come without a doubt.

Sam shook his head exasperatedly, but reached for his mobile phone to snap a picture anyway.

 

* * *

 

 

"So you are telling me that he's," Nadine cleared her throat to give herself a couple of moments before she had to finish her statement, "The devil?"

Nadine had already questioned her sanity for letting the fake agents, their companions and the suddenly healed stranger back into her home in the first place. Hearing their outrageous story about the Apocalypse, angels, demons and humanized archangels did nothing to make the woman feel better. In fact, Nadine might have told them to get out and never come back if they did not want to have the police called on them in the first five minutes, if one of the angels had not made a couple of light bulbs explode when he showed off his wings. It was hard to maintain the opinion that angels did not exist when one was standing in front of her.

Gracie of course was nothing but excited to finally see some wings. She seemed a little disappointed when Lucifer told her he did not have wings anymore. Under completely different circumstances Nadine might have thought her daughter's assurance that Lucifer was still the best angel ever was funny. Then again, hearing Grace talk like that to and about a man Nadine knew next to nothing about would never be anything other than creepy.

"Used to be," Dean pointed out, unable to keep the smugness out of his voice, "He's fully human now."

"Thank you for the reminder," Lucifer huffed, rolling his eyes in annoyance. In all honesty, it did not come as a great surprise to hear that he was not an archangel anymore. Lucifer had not allowed himself to seriously consider the possibility before, but the lack of powers and the way his body had continuously betrayed him spoke for itself. At least the other archangels were in the same position, but Lucifer still felt like showing Gabriel exactly how much he appreciated his stupid spell the moment Gracie was not watching.

"Then again, devil is a title man gave to you not the name of your species," Balthazar quipped as he smiled at Lucifer with fake benevolence, "It's your lucky day, you get to keep it."

"It's not so bad, mommy," Gracie explained, taking her mother's hand and looking directly into Nadine's eyes to let her know how serious and certain she was about what she was going to say, "Lucy is the angel who said no to God and had to live in hell because of it. He's a bit grumpy and says mean things sometimes, but he's my friend and I told him he can have a new home with us."

"No, Grace, his family is here to pick him up and..." Nadine replied in a gentle tone. The woman had to try hard to keep her relief over the fact that Lucifer would be taken out of their lives soon out of her voice. Nadine knew her daughter would be heartbroken for a while, but it was for the best. How could it not be for the best to keep a dangerous supernatural being, the devil nevertheless, away from her child?

"Actually...," Balthazar commented with a slight shrug.

"Oh God," Nadine groaned, covering her mouth instinctively as soon as the words left her lips. She might not be a great believer, but using the Lord's name in vain around a bunch of angels and ex-angels probably counted as extremely rude. Luckily none of the men seemed even fazed by Nadine's slip up.

"You could say the devil is up for adoption by a good family," Balthazar finished his statement with a winning smile. It was obvious that Nadine did not want to have Lucifer around for longer, but humans allowed one kind of another of metaphorical devils to take residence in their lives all the time. In this case it was the literal devil, but they would gain heaven's -or at least Balthazar and Castiel's- gratefulness by letting him stay.

Lucifer glared at his stupid brother for making his situation sound even more undignified than it already was. As a matter of fact, the former archangel wanted to stay with the family. Actually, he wanted to stay around Grace and would bear her mother's presence if he had to.

Gracie nodded eagerly, pulling on her mother's sleeve. The little girl wanted to adopt the devil and show him more of her favorite things. Basically, Gracie simply wanted to do more of what they had done over the past weeks, just without having to keep it secret from her mother.

"I would of course provide a trustworthy guard," Castiel stated before Nadine could find the words to tell her daughter no, "For your protection as well as Lucifer's."

Castiel did not trust Lucifer's sudden change of heart when it came to humans

"Good luck finding someone suitable," Lucifer snorted. The only angels who would not try to kill him on sight -especially after finding out he was powerless- were ones the former archangel doubted his trench coat-clad brother would consider for the position. At least Lucifer would not appoint someone with too many sympathies for their prisoner as a warden. That was just asking for trouble.

"I have given the matter some thought and have come up with a likely candidate," Castiel replied mysteriously. The seraph did not intent to reveal any names until he had spoken with the brother in question. Being Lucifer's personal guard was not a position Castiel would order someone to take. The potential guard had every right to say no.

"Don't look at me like that, Cassy," Balthazar immediately exclaimed in a scandalized voice, "You're my favorite brother and I love you, but I'd rather wear thrift shop clothes for all eternity than..."

"I was not thinking of you, Balthazar," Castiel interrupted Balthazar's rant, before he could get into longer descriptions of all things he would rather do than to guard Lucifer.

Balthazar sighed relieved, before a thoughtful expression crossed his face. Clearly they would need someone extremely trustworthy for the job. Why did Castiel not even consider him? Sure, Balthazar did not want the position and would fight tooth and nail to get out of it if it was offered, but it would have been nice to be asked at least.

"I still don't think..." Nadine stated in a try to get back to the main topic. They would not need another angel, a guard, around the house if Lucifer did not stay. Next to her Gracie looked like she was preparing for another tantrum to get her way. What was it about the man -the devil- that made Nadine's little girl fight for him so hard? It did not make any sense.

"Look at it like this, he'll rent a room in your house," Gabriel suggested with a smile toward Nadine, before he handed a large envelope to his older brother, "He has the funds to pay whatever price you want."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow at his younger brother as he took the envelope. The little backstabber had not dramatized if the account statements Lucifer pulled out of the envelope were any indication. Of course providing Lucifer with the basic documents -though Luke DeVille was not exactly a name he would have chosen for himself- and some money was the least Gabriel could do. After all it was the short traitor's fault that Lucifer was in this situation to begin with. Then again, Lucifer's mind supplied, the least Gabriel could do was... nothing. That did not mean the former archangel had to forgive his little brother immediately though.

"We can try for a week," Nadine sighed deeply, "And only on the condition that you'll come back and pick him up immediately if it doesn't work out."

Maybe a week would be long enough for Gracie to get over this phase she was going through, or -more likely- long enough to allow Nadine to really get used to the thought that angels existed and the devil was living in her guest room.

Sam nodded his consent and handed Nadine a card with his number on it before anyone else could respond. The younger Winchester knew what it was like to be burdened with Lucifer -though on a different level- so he could sympathize. Nadine's willingness to give it a try was more than any of them could ask for really.

"I would've made the life of every babysitter living hell 'til I gotcha back," Gracie whispered to her angel as she hugged him once more. Her voice was still loud enough for everyone to hear though.

"That's my little abomination," Lucifer smirked, patting the girl's head with a fond smile.

Nadine could not fight the sinking feeling that she was in over her head.


	19. Chapter 19

**18**

 

"I swear, if he ever tries to punch you again..." Sam grumbled as he gently pressed the ice pack against Gabriel's right cheekbone. The younger Winchester winced in sympathy when Gabriel hissed. The bruise was definitely not the worst Sam had ever seen, but the fact that the younger Winchester had been standing right next to his boyfriend when Lucifer punched him -too slow to react and prevent it from happening- made it ten times worse in Sam's eyes.

"I love it when you release your inner alpha male," Gabriel grinned for a moment before he grimaced in pain. Apparently laughing, or anything else that required the former archangel to move his facial muscles, was not exactly a good idea.

"Gabe," Sam sighed running the fingers of the hand not holding the ice pack through his partner's hair gently. Sometimes the younger Winchester wished that Gabriel would take things more seriously, especially when his own wellbeing was concerned, but the former archangel was -understandably- far too happy that Lucifer's story had found a happy end for now to be bothered by the bruise too much.

"It's not that bad," Gabriel shrugged lightly, before he took the ice pack from Sam to hold it himself, "Honestly, I'm surprised Lucy had the restraint to wait until we were leaving..."

The former archangel expected Lucifer to lash out the moment he heard that Gabriel was responsible for his fall. Looking at the conditions his older brother had to live through in the past weeks, Gabriel would have understood it if Lucifer lost his temper. It was surprising when Lucifer stayed mostly calm throughout their talk with Nadine, but even more surprising when the former archangel gave Gabriel a smile and asked Gracie to turn the other way for a moment, just before he struck out and punched Gabriel in the face. Gabriel liked to think he could have deflected the blow if he had seen it coming, but he kind of deserved to be hit -just this once- anyway.

"How bad is the pain?" Sam asked with a crooked smile.

"What's the answer that's going to get me laid?" Gabriel retorted, waggling his eyebrows despite the pain. That moment the former archangel was a wounded soldier who heroically faced the wrath of the devil himself and had the battle scars to prove it, while Sam was the toting and adoring nurse. At least, that was how Gabriel wanted to play it.

"The offer was for painkillers," Sam replied in a completely unimpressed voice. Maybe Gabriel's toting and adoring nurse required more playful banter and flirting to get with the program than the former archangel had first assumed.

"Typical, the moment my face's not pretty anymore, you rebuff my advances!" the former archangel pouted, mirroring the sad puppy look that always worked for Sam.

"Idiot," the younger Winchester huffed out a chuckle. To tell the truth, Sam wasn't exactly against the idea of having an extensive make out and more session with Gabriel while they had the chance. They decided to stay in Mount Prospect for another day or two just in case Nadine changed her mind early on and had nothing pressing on their schedules. Gabriel's bruise would not keep them from doing anything either.

"Yeah, but I'm your idiot," Gabriel grinned as he put the ice pack aside, cupping Sam's face and planting a lingering kiss on the taller man's lips, "Now shoo, off to the shower Muffin and don't bother with clothes, I'll be naked too."

"Romantic," Sam commented with a snort even as his lips twitched traitorously, "Does this mean the honeymoon-phase is over? 'Cause Dean will be happy to hear that."

"Never!" Gabriel proclaimed passionately, wrapping his arms around Sam's waist to bring them as close together as possible before he kissed him again.

When Sam finally made his way to the shower he was positively lightheaded and grinning like an idiot.

 

* * *

 

 

The guest room Lucifer had been shown earlier was both nice and comfortable. The former archangel's standards were not exactly high when it came to housing and it definitely was a step up from the play house, so Lucifer saw no reason to complain. The former archangel also had to admit that spending the evening on the couch in the living room, watching Lilo and Stitch while Gracie blabbered on about everything she knew about the movie was nice, overly tense mothers none withstanding.

"Night, Lucy," Gracie stated after the end credits rolled. The little girl planted a kiss on the former archangel's cheek before she went to hug and kiss her mother good night.

"We really have to talk about that nickname. You use it when others are listening a little too often," Lucifer commented with a groan. They also had to talk about those other public displays of affection some time, but that could wait. The former archangel would vehemently deny that he liked how the innocent hugs and kisses made him feel loved, but he could definitely admit that it amused him to no end to see Nadine give him death glares because of them.

Seriously, it was like Gracie's mother thought Lucifer was some sort of pedophile. Granted, the former archangel killed an entire town full of people -including children- to raise Death among other, no less horrible things, but pedophilia was definitely not on Lucifer's list of sins. In fact, it was one of the things that made even him shiver. Some humans -or most really, if you asked Lucifer for his honest opinion- were much sicker than the devil could ever hope to be.

"I think it's nice," Gracie replied with a bright smile.

"Good night, Grace," Lucifer sighed in defeat. Maybe it was better if the people Grace might talk to did not hear his full name anyway, but really did it have to be Lucy instead? The former archangel hoped he could somehow convince the kid to at least use the Luke pseudonym Gabriel made up for him. Knowing his luck he might end up with a nickname like Lucky though. It probably was better not to discuss the topic, Lucifer did not believe he had any way to really win this in the end.

"You listen to me, you only get to stay because my daughter for some inexplicable reason likes you..." Nadine hissed as soon as she was sure Grace was out of earshot. The woman had not gotten the chance to openly speak to her new subtenant with her daughter never leaving the room, but she was determined to take the chance while she had it.

"I thought it was about you being a single mother and needing the money," Lucifer retorted matter-of-factly. The former archangel knew from Grace that her mother had to work long hours just barely allowing them to keep the house after her father's death. Having someone who paid rent would definitely help there.

"I'd never put money over my daughter's wellbeing!" Nadine protested, automatically raising her index finger like she was scolding a little kid. In a way, she decided, Lucifer was like a little kid anyway, unused to social norms and the human way of life. He was definitely a rude and ill-mannered child though.

"Of course not, that's not one of the things you humans do all the time," Lucifer shrugged casually, before he waved his hand and added, "Please proceed."

"I've got one week to call this whole thing off!" Nadine reminded the former archangel in a hard tone. Her main concern was for Gracie's wellbeing, but that did not mean she would completely ignore any inconveniences the devil's presence was causing her. He would have to go the moment Nadine felt like he was a bad influence on Grace, but she might also kick him out for being too disrespectful against her.

"Go ahead, but you'll be the one who has to explain it to Grace," Lucifer replied, though there was something in his eyes that said all too clearly that he did not want to leave. As a matter of fact, Lucifer wouldn't know what to do with himself if he did not have Grace around. He had the money to make a living for himself, but he had no idea what kind of life he wanted outside of what he had at the moment. Lucifer definitely did not want to go back to how things had been, even if he tried to push that thought aside whenever it came up.

Nadine shook her head before she turned around to leave. There was no use trying to have a conversation with the man. There was one more thing that had to be cleared up though. Luckily Lucifer was not the one Nadine had to talk to for this, even though it felt silly to address someone she could not see, but she knew he was around. "Samandriel -wherever you are- make sure he stays in his room over night, or I won't guarantee for anything!"

The devil could scoff all he wanted, Nadine had a baseball bat and was more than willing to use it.

Lucifer could not be completely sure, but he thought he heard a quiet, stifled laugher wavering through the room.

 

* * *

 

 

Gabriel zapped through the channels utterly bored. It was times like these when the former archangel missed his ability to just snap his fingers and have whatever it was he wanted to see on TV in an instant. At least it sounded like he would not have to entertain himself much longer if the pipes were anything to go by. By the sounds of it, Sam switched the shower off and would undoubtedly come out of the bathroom in no time. Gabriel had every intention to have a fun time even if it was unlikely that Sam...

The former archangel's jaw dropped at the sight of his gloriously naked boyfriend leaning against the door frame with a definitely seductive and slightly disapproving expression on his face.

"You know, I for one did as you said," Sam stated, clearing his throat awkwardly before he put the seductive facade back up and added, "But if you weren't serious..."

Somehow knowing that Sam was insecure about the whole thing, but was still willing to push all that aside and play the seducer for Gabriel made the whole scenarios just that little bit hotter. Not that Sam had anything to be insecure about to begin with, but Gabriel knew it simply was not in Sam's nature to present himself like this usually.

"I... uh... on... my... way... ugh..." Gabriel stammered as he tried to shed his clothes as quickly as possible, getting stuck in his shirt in his hurry.

Sam laughed, breaking character as he went to help Gabriel with his predicament. The smaller man's hands were roaming the younger Winchester's chest freely as Gabriel gladly left the task to undress him to Sam.

"If I'd known you'd take orders so well..." the former archangel commented with a smirk, promptly losing his train of thought when Sam crushed their lips together. Words were not needed when Gabriel could simply walk them to the bed and push Sam down on it anyway.

"Dammit Muffin, you look good enough to eat," Gabriel mumbled as he followed the younger Winchester down and covered his body with his own.

Sam's dimples came out full force when he smiled at the smaller man and cupped his face to kiss him deeply.

"It's a fitting nickname, I guess," Sam chuckled a little breathlessly when they parted. The younger Winchester liked to think he could have come up with a wittier reply, if the feeling of Gabriel's mouth on his chest -and moving steadily lower- had not distracted him.

There was something about getting Sam to the point where he was unable to form full sentences and was reduced to repeating Gabriel's name over and over that never failed to fill the former archangel with pride. Gabriel hummed appreciatively when he realized that Sam must have gotten busier in the shower than the former archangel assumed. Gabriel gave his partner's hipbone a gentle nip, a gesture that never failed to make Sam moan out loud, as a reward for saving them both a couple minutes of preparation time.

The younger Winchester propped himself up on his elbows to meet Gabriel's lips halfway. They kissed for few long moments before the former archangel guided Sam's leg to hook around Gabriel's hip and pressed forward in one fluid motion until they were once more joined.

The former archangel built up an unhurried pace that was mostly a rocking motion, never drawing out further than absolutely necessary. The buildup was slow and delicious, their pace only getting faster as they both neared completion.

Gabriel was still trying to catch his breath when he reached out to brush some of Sam's sweaty hair out of the younger Winchester's face. They shared a happy and sated smile before Gabriel withdrew for a moment to allow them to get into their preferred sleeping position.

The former archangel threw his arm over Sam's waist to hold him close as soon as he spooned him from behind. The younger Winchester could feel his partner's breath evening out against his neck as Gabriel drifted off to sleep. In all honesty, Sam could have stayed like this for all his life without missing a thing.

 

* * *

 

 

It was unusual to say the least for Hope to have to actively look for Michael. Somehow the man was always there. Sometimes he was standing far enough away to barely register on Hope's metaphorical inner radar, but more often he was close enough to reach out and touch him if she wanted to. In the beginning Hope thought this kind of behavior would grate on her nerves soon enough, but somehow it never did. The young woman actually felt like Michael was a soothing presence in her life, like having him around would give her answers to questions she never asked, once she learned how to decode them that was.

It was strange for Michael to just wander off on his own and even stranger for Hope to look around and be unable to immediately spot him somewhere nearby. In the end Hope found Michael in the garden behind her uncle's house. He was just sitting on a bench, staring at his own hands forlornly.

"Michael?" Hope asked with a frown as she sat next to him on the garden bench, "Hey, what's... what's wrong with you?"

Try as she might, Hope could not figure out what might have brought Michael down like this. Granted, he never was an all too joyful person, but he seemed downright depressed right then. Hope did not enjoy Sunday mass and especially socializing with other people of the congregation afterward too much herself, but the service had held a positive enough tone for her tastes and she had not seen anyone speak to Michael afterward. Before that they had dinner and everything was still okay, so it had to have to do with church.

"I never..." Michael sighed deeply, not meeting Hope's eyes, "I never listened."

"I don't understand," Hope admitted with a small smile as she reached out to put her hand over Michael's. In times like this it became painfully obvious that Hope knew next to nothing about Michael's life. The young woman never was under the impression that Michael was bad at listening. If anything, he was bad at expressing his own thoughts, but he was a very patient listener. Apparently her mysterious lost sheep thought about it differently.

"Today at church, I heard the woman behind me pray," Michael explained, never lifting his gaze from their joined hands. The former archangel had not dared to turn around and look at the woman to keep from interrupting her, but from her voice he guessed that she was elderly. The woman had kept praying for her son to come back to her unharmed. Michael did not need to know the exact circumstances to draw his conclusions and he did not need to know more to realize that it was the first time in much too long that he consciously listened to a prayer.

"You feel bad for overhearing a prayer?" Hope frowned. The young woman was certain she did not get what Michael was trying to say, but she would need him to spell it out for her more clearly if he wanted her to follow. "I mean, they are kinda personal, but if you say them out loud..."

"No, I..." Michael replied, finally looking back at Hope, "All those prayers, they are so important to those people and I never listened. Somebody should hear them."

"That's not exactly your job," Hope stated utterly confused by the turn the conversation had taken.

"Not anymore," Michael closed his eyes with a pained expression before he added, "Maybe that's why I lost it."

It was obvious that Hope did not understand what Michael was talking about and the former archangel could not expect her to when she had no idea who he used to be. Sometimes Michael honestly considered to tell Hope the full truth. He had learned so much about the world and himself since his fall, but Michael felt like there was still so much left to discover and Hope could help him with it, if only she knew what kind of help he needed.

Then again, Michael had no way to prove his story was true and he could hardly expect her to simply believe, especially when he had lost faith in them.

 

* * *

 

 

"Gabriel, Gabe, wake up," Sam stated in a hushed tone as he grabbed Gabriel's shoulder and gently shook the former archangel. The younger Winchester was sorry to wake his partner up in the middle of the night, but he had news to share that he was sure Gabriel would greatly appreciate.

"Huh? It's... uh... give me a couple minutes and a nice visual and maybe..." Gabriel mumbled still half asleep, but getting more awake with every passing second. The prospect of Sam being the one who was too horny to sleep -possibly aided by a graphic dream, at least that was how it usually went for Gabriel- for once was too good to pass up for something as inconsequential as sleep.

"I found Raphael's vessel," Sam explained. The younger Winchester had woken up and wanted to get himself a glass of water when his eyes fell on the remaining missing people reports Dean had been friendly enough to store in their room. Since Sam had been awake already he decided to spare a couple of minutes to look through a few of them. The sooner they found all archangels -though they still had no idea of how to find Michael- the sooner they could lay that topic to rest. If they were lucky, they were all settled in comparable circumstances to Lucifer and then the Winchesters, including Gabriel, could go back to business as usual.

Gabriel sat up abruptly, staring at his partner and the file he was holding. The former archangel's amorous ambitions had been shot down as effectively as if he had gotten a bucket of cold water over the head, but at the same time he felt a tingle of anticipation that was completely non-sexual in origin.

After all, Lucifer was doing much better in his human life than any of them could have expected, so Gabriel could not wait to see what Raphael was making of his new life. This just had to be good!


	20. Chapter 20

**19**

 

"Hope, wake up," Michael said more urgently than strictly necessary. It was hardly a matter of life and death, and technically they had no time limit for this that warranted waking the young woman up before sunrise, but the former archangel's impatience was growing with every passing minute. Michael made up his mind hours ago and he needed to go through with his plan before he lost his courage or he had the opportunity to overanalyze the matter.

"Five more minutes," Hope mumbled as she pulled the blanket over her head without ever fully waking up.

"You also said that five minutes ago," Michael replied indignantly, crossing his arms in front of his chest before he added more firmly, "I need to talk to you."

Hope blinked her eyes open slowly. This was not how her wakeup calls usually worked. Someone usually told her to get up, she asked for five more minutes and was either granted some more time to sleep, or had her blanket taken away and the lights turned on, on her.

"Huh?" Hope finally asked ineloquently as she poked her head out from under the blanket, "Michael?"

The realization that it was Michael who had something important enough to say to wake her up at the crack of dawn, chased away most of the residual wariness. Michael wasn't the kind of person to show up in Hope's bedroom in the middle of the night without a very good reason.

"I want to show you something," Michael announced, looking at Hope as if he expected a very specific reaction from her.

"Right," Hope replied, brushing some hair out of her face. The fact that some of her dark brown hair refused to comply and fell back into her face immediately spoke for a spectacular bed head. However, Hope was too intrigued by Michael's announcement to pay her looks too much thought. Unfortunately she was also too intrigued -and slightly groggy- to pay too much attention to what was coming out of her mouth next. "Is it your dick?"

"What? I don't..." Michael's eyes widened nearly comically even before he took a step back instinctively. The former archangel was obviously taken aback by Hope's comment and slightly horrified by the thought that Hope might think his idea of wooing someone included simply showing up in the middle of the night with the intention of exposing himself. Michael would be the first to admit he did not understand humanity or their habits completely, but even he knew more about romance than that.

"The answer to the question determines whether I have to get dressed for this," Hope explained even as she fought down the laughter that was trying to escape. Poor Michael was flabbergasted enough without him feeling like she was making fun of him.

"Then yes. No!" Michael stated before promptly correcting himself and then taking a short break to make sure he gave a clear answer on the third try, "I had meant to say... clothes are needed."

"Meet you downstairs in five," Hope replied as she finally threw the blanket off her body and got ready to get out of bed. Michael wanted to show her something so badly he could not even wait for sunrise. This was bound to be good.

 

* * *

 

 

Dean's motel room was mercifully not directly next to Sam and Gabriel's so he could spend the night in there without every single sound he heard making him cringe just in case it was caused by his younger brother and the former archangel's bedroom activities. However, sometimes Dean just liked to sit on the hood of his car and watch the stars, a beer in his hand and a small smile tugging at his lips. It was as close to heaven as Dean Winchester could get. Well, as close to heaven as he hoped he would get for the next fifty or so years actually.

"Hello Dean," Castiel's voice suddenly broke through Dean's silent musings.

"Hey Cas," Dean replied, nodding toward his friend, "Don't you have a heaven to fix or something?"

The oldest Winchester had little hope that Castiel simply wanted to hang out. The angel made it perfectly clear that he had a lot of work that could not wait right now the last time Dean called him out on spending so little time with them. Dean also had very little hope to find Sam and Gabriel fully dressed and playing chess if they had to go into their room to tell them they had a case to get to anytime soon.

Castiel frowned and tilted his head. The blue-eyed seraph heard Dean's prayer to come and hang out with him a couple days ago. Back then Castiel could not make it no matter how much he wanted to, but he had managed to deflect the new duties everyone tried to pile up on him the moment he returned back to heaven this time. Castiel had been looking forward to spending some time with Dean, so he could not help being disappointed that it might not be what Dean wanted. "I could leave, if that is what you..."

"Shut up and hop on," Dean interrupted Castiel before he could say something completely wrong and stupid. The oldest Winchester patted the hood of the Impala next to him to make sure Castiel knew what was expected and waited until the seraph followed the invitation before he spoke on. "So, how's it going? You've made yourself rare lately."

"Believe me, I wish..." Castiel replied automatically before he took a deep breath. There was silence for a few long moments before the angel admitted, "Envy is a sin I have committed often lately."

"Yeah? Who're you envious of?" Dean frowned, but gave Castiel an encouraging nod. It had been a while since they had the chance for a conversation and Dean was determined to have it now. If they had to start by dealing with things dangerously close to chick flick territory, Dean would suffer through it. As long as Cas did not expect any real sharing and caring from the oldest Winchester's side, they would be fine.

"Gabriel and Tarot to begin with," Castiel answered, his eyes wandering toward Sam and Gabriel's motel room automatically, "And even Lucifer to some extent."

"That your way of saying you'd rather stay down here with us too?" Dean asked with a small grin.

Castiel did not answer, but only locked eyes with Dean. It was a fact that Castiel never wanted to be a leader, at least not to the extent it was expected of him now. He wished for more free will for angels and he was determined to make sure his brothers and sisters got it, but Castiel really only wanted to be one of them. Maybe once they were done with the restructuring that would be possible. Maybe once he could be just one of the angels, he could also come back to Earth more permanently.

"That's real cute, Cas," Dean laughed, before he leaned back against the windshield and added in a fond tone, "Hey, you could have the shotgun seat, let our two lover boys have the backseat to... No wait, they'd just defile Baby."

Dean shuddered dramatically at the thought of Sam and Gabriel doing inappropriate things in the Impala and then shuddered some more at the thought of them doing those things while Dean was driving. He absolutely would not give them the chance to do anything like that!

"You'd still have to sit in the back," Dean decided, turning his head to look at Castiel. That mental picture seemed about right. The two Winchesters in the front like they had always been while Castiel and Gabriel had their backs from the backseat.

"I would like that," Castiel replied seriously, a small, content smile on his lips.

"Better get heaven fixed quick then," Dean stated with a grin, before he added seriously, "And don't bring Balthazar. The invitation doesn't include douchebags."

It looked like Castiel wanted to say something -possibly to defend Balthazar- but the sound of footsteps kept the angel from further speaking his mind.

"Hey," Sam nodded toward Dean and Castiel, "I identified Raphael's vessel. Jody's putting out a warrant this moment."

Dean really was not sure if that counted as good or bad news, but they had been looking for Raphael so it was news that had to come sooner or later. Besides it sounded like Castiel would have a reason to spend more time with them in the near future and that was definitely a good thing, the oldest Winchester decided.

 

* * *

 

 

In all honesty, Hope could not say what she expected once it became clear that whatever Michael wanted to show her was outside of the house. A walk to the nearby beach was not it though. Watching the sunrise might be nice, but Michael made it sound like he had something else in mind. In fact, Hope assumed that he finally wanted to talk about his life before she met him.

"This is where I landed," Michael's voice broke the silence that had fallen between them. The former archangel made sure to point toward the water to make sure Hope got the right idea of where exactly he had made first contact with Earth in decades.

"You... landed?" Hope asked with a frown. A little detail she noticed about Michael when she first laid eyes on him suddenly made a lot of sense, even though the story as a whole did not make any kind of sense at all yet. "Guess that's why your clothes were wet when we first met."

Of course, the explanation for why Michael had been in the water fully clothed in the first place was still missing. Somehow it didn't sound like he fell off a boat -and would the other people on the boat not do something about someone going overboard? Hope's thought process was probably influenced by countless books and movies, but she could not help picturing a bunch of criminals trying to drown Michael -possibly with the stereotypical concrete shoes on. That might explain why he did not want to get into contact with anyone from his old life, even though the scenario was more than unlikely.

"It was a pretty uncomfortable landing," Michael replied seriously. At least most human emotions Michael experienced after he managed to get out of the water were more pleasant than the initial panic and fear of drowning. "I know how this must sound..."

"No, it's okay, just... finish what you started," Hope shrugged, trying to give Michael a reassuring smile. Everything sounded strange this far, but he had not given her any information she could draw real conclusions from. What Michael was trying to say was probably perfectly reasonable, as soon as he actually explained what he was trying to say.

"I don't know how it happened, but I think Gabriel had something to do with it," Michael sighed, swallowing down his nerves. Once the next few words he planned to say were out there was no way for him to get out of it again. He wished Hope would believe him, but if she did not then the former archangel's life would be turned upside down once more. "I... I fell from heaven."

Hope swallowed heavily and blinked a few times in an attempt to stall. No matter how many seconds passed, the words she thought she heard Michael say did not change, so she probably understood right and he really just claimed he fell from heaven. Hope thought it would not hurt to make sure she heard correctly in this situation. "From heaven? Like, up there heaven?"

Michael's eyes followed Hope's outstretched arm automatically as the young woman pointed toward the sky. The former archangel found it hard to read Hope's tone and expression that moment. It did not sound like she immediately rejected what he told her, but it also had not sounded like she believed him.

"I used to be an angel, an archangel actually, which is why I could never tell you anything about myself," Michael replied, his nerves showing in his voice. The former archangel desperately needed Hope to believe him. He had so much to learn and to understand, but he felt he could not make the progress he wanted to make unless he acknowledged who he had been, unless they worked through the baggage he came with as Hope put it some days ago.

"Right... Michael, the archangel... and Gabriel threw you out of heaven," Hope repeated what she heard so far. Her head was spinning with these new revelations. Hope could not say for sure if she liked the possibility that Michael was telling the truth, that he was just messing with her or that he was crazy better. He seemed completely sincere and he still was the moral, unoffending Michael she had gotten to know, so Hope was confident she could rule out the possibility that he was playing a cruel prank on her.

"It's only a theory," Michael admitted with a slight shrug. It was only a vague feeling the former archangel had that linked the circumstances of his fall to his youngest brother. The question of who was responsible was not the most important issue that moment anyway. "You don't believe me."

"I believe that you believe it," Hope replied cautiously, but honestly. Michael had never shown even the slightest hint of being insincere with her, so she had no reason to think he was now.

"Which means you think I'm delusional," Michael concluded with a pained expression. He had no proof for his story. The most he could have done was to speak Enochian or draw her some symbols, but that could hardly count as solid proof for his story.

Hope studied Michael's face carefully. It was obvious that he wanted her to believe him, just as it had been obvious that the thought of nobody listening to people's prayers honestly bothered him earlier. She had said often enough that Michael was acting like an alien, but Hope never expected to hear that she had not been that far off with her joking assumption. Assuming of course, that he was not simply clinically insane.

Hope's eyes met Michael's for a few long moments as she fought to find the right thing to say. How was she supposed to know what the right thing to say was when she had no idea what the truth was? Somehow, despite everything her brain was screaming at her, there was only one option that felt completely right though.

"No, let me finish," Hope finally stated as she took hold of Michael's hand and intertwined their fingers, "I believe that you believe it... and -even though I might regret it later- I believe in you."

 

* * *

 

 

It was not often that the Winchesters took the time to have a nice and unhurried breakfast. However, there was nowhere else they had to be that moment and the fact that Nadine had not called them to come and take Lucifer away after having him at her house for the night seemed like a good enough reason to celebrate.

The oldest Winchester made a mental note to have celebratory breakfasts over good news more often the moment he was served his meat lovers breakfast. Apparently Gabriel was just as happy with the waffles he ordered. Sam was the only one of them who was not paying much attention to his breakfast -which was boring and bland anyway- and was reading the newspaper instead.

"You've got to try the waffles!" Gabriel announced after he was done moaning in a way seldom heard outside of porn, "De-lici-ous!"

The former archangel broke off a piece of his waffle with his fingers and offered it to Sam, who put his newspaper aside long enough to wrap his lips around Gabriel's fingers and take the offered treat. The gesture was enough to bring up thoughts of all different kinds of food they really had to bring back to their room sometime soon in the former archangel's mind. Maybe Sam would be more up for that kind of thing than Gabriel had first assumed.

"Guys, really?" Dean groaned loudly when his younger brother leaned in to give Gabriel a quick peck to the lips on top of everything. It wasn't that they were drawing attention from the other patrons of the diner -which there were not many of and the ones that were there did not pay them any attention- and Dean wouldn't give a rat's ass about that anyway. Actually, if anybody dared to make as much as a homophobic comment toward Sam or Gabriel, Dean would be the first to stand up and punch them in their stupid face. However, that did not mean he wanted to see them act like lovebirds over breakfast.

"Sorry Dean-o," Gabriel replied without sounding the least bit sorry before he broke off another piece of his waffles and asked, "Did you want some too?"

Dean was about to tell Gabriel where exactly he could stick his stupid suggestion along with the waffle piece when the ringtone of Sam's cell phone interrupted the oldest Winchester's train of thought.

"I have good news and bad news," Jody announced once Sam put his phone on speaker. There were not many people around to begin with and from what little Jody said before the younger Winchester decided to let the other two hear as well, it did not sound like there would be talk of anything too strange for civilians to hear. "Raphael was arrested for breaking and entering."

"Is that the good or the bad news?" Gabriel asked with a frown. On the one hand his brother had been found which was good, but on the other hand Raphael was in prison which was clearly bad. It did not sound like Gabriel's brother/sister managed to find his place the way Lucifer had.

"Good... I think," Sam replied a little uncertainly. Their main concern was to find Raphael. They could still make sure the former archangel had a comfortable life once they found him. Once they knew the full story and what the circumstances were.

"So we just have to go to the police station and..." Dean started before Jody interrupted him.

"That's the bad news," Sheriff Mills sighed, "Her lawyer already bailed her out."


	21. Chapter 21

**20**

 

"You're on speaker," Sam told Bobby.

The Winchesters and Gabriel were on their way to Joplin. Raphael hadn't been out of prison long enough to disappear completely. In the very least they should be able to find the lawyer who bailed him out. The man should be interested in getting his money back and thus know about Raphael's whereabouts, if the Winchesters could ever be that lucky.

"It's bad news," Bobby announced in a gruff tone, "Jody pulled some strings and got a good description of Raphael's lawyer."

"That's not the bad news I assume," Gabriel replied impatiently. If Raphael was in trouble the former archangel needed to know. Gabriel was the one who forced his three older brothers to become human, everything they went through was technically his fault. He got lucky with Lucifer whose fall had given him a great chance for a fresh start -a chance Lucifer apparently wanted to take too- but if any of the others were less fortunate, Gabriel felt he had to do everything he could to make it better.

Bobby huffed out a long breath before he stated, "Sounds a whole lot like somebody we know..."

 

 

Raphael woke up in an empty parking lot, rain pouring down on him. The former archangel managed to get to his feet with difficulties, not bothering to straighten his skirt or shirt once he did. Somebody or something had attacked him, but that was all he was sure of.

Raphael started to walk toward the street, heading into a random direction. It did not seem to make a difference. Raphael only had to keep moving until he could figure things out. Whoever threw him out of heaven might very well be on his trail and he needed to lose them as quickly as possible.

"You look a little lost. Can I help you?" an elderly man asked in a gentle tone as he touched Raphael's shoulder carefully.

"Leave me alone!" Raphael demanded harshly, yanking his shoulder free. The former archangel had not even noticed that someone was approaching him until he was touched and he didn't like it one little bit.

"Of course, but if you change your mind..." the man held up his palms to show he meant the woman no harm before he reached for the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a pamphlet.

Raphael barely took the time to read the first few words before he scrunched up the paper and threw it away. The former archangel was not exactly sure what this so called Salvation Army was, but there was certainly nothing he needed that they could offer him.

Raphael had kept wandering long after his feet started hurting, long after he realized he was hungry and thirsty. Once the feelings became unbearable he was forced to consider that he really needed shelter, food and drink.

Maybe simply taking what he needed should not have been the first option that came to Raphael's mind, but he was exhausted, scared -though he would never admit it, even to himself-, angry and there was a family home that looked empty just across the street.

 

* * *

 

 

"But the name tag says Alfie," Gracie argued just as Lucifer walked into the kitchen. The little girl was sitting on a chair by the kitchen counter with her breakfast cereal while Samandriel stood on the other side looking completely out of place in his Wiener Hut uniform. Lucifer made a mental note to mock his brother over his wardrobe when the opportunity arose. The former devil did not give a damn about fashion himself, but there were things that were simply undignified.

"My vessel wore it when I..." Samandriel told the girl and was promptly interrupted.

"What does that mean?" Gracie asked curiously, not waiting for the angel to finish his statement. The little girl still was not sure what 'abomination' meant, but she was determined to learn the meaning of the new word she only just heard.

"Angels need to be inside a human body when they walk the Earth," Samandriel explained after a moment of consideration. The angel assumed that giving simple answers was appropriate when speaking to a human child. In a way that was similar to addressing a new, bright eyed cupid. Samandriel also assumed that a lot of things Balthazar mentioned during his lectures on humanity were in fact, not appropriate in everyday situations, but it wasn't like Samandriel was unwilling to learn on the job.

"What's Alfie doin' now then?" Gracie fixed Samandriel with a curious stare, forgetting all about her breakfast.

"He's essentially asleep," Samandriel replied a little awkwardly. One of the new rules established by Castiel and Balthazar clearly stated that all vessels had to give consent without being pressured into it in any way. Luckily Alfie seemed more than willing to allow his body to be used as a vessel, if it gave him a chance to flee from his life. Samandriel knew he had done nothing wrong, but the circumstances of his acception still bugged him a little.

Gracie nodded a couple times thinking about the new information. The little girl assumed Alfie would wake up some day then and Samandriel would be sleeping. Maybe it was a bit like the time share apartments her mother talked about sometimes when she spoke about her work to Gracie's grandmother.

"Can I call you Sam?" Gracie questioned once she was done with her considerations. Samandriel simply was a too long name to use it a lot and Sam was the logical abbreviation.

"Hell no!" Lucifer exclaimed, finally making his presence known; though he assumed his little brother long since noticed that he was in the room, "That name's taken and it doesn't have the best connotations for me."

Granted, the former devil held a certain amount of affection for his -former- true vessel, but Lucifer was trying to distance himself from his life before... before Gracie. Lucifer would not be caught dead admitting it out loud, but he had the honest urge to be a better person, to live a good life and not only for the little abomination either. The former devil realized that he liked the person he had become better than the one he had been, even if he was human. Being human did not necessarily mean having to be a disgusting cockroach after all.

"Good morning, brother," Samandriel greeted Lucifer with a curt nod. In all honesty, the former archangel scared the angel a little even as a human, but he vowed to try his best not to show it before he agreed to take the assignment Castiel proposed to him.

"Why's he not invisible?" Lucifer asked Gracie as he pointed toward his little brother. As far as the former devil knew Samandriel was meant to be a silent guard, not to interact with any of them outside of emergencies.

"'Cause I was bored 'nd wanted to talk," Gracie replied with a shrug, hugging Lucifer's middle as soon as he came close enough to her to do so. Nadine went to change the sheets on their beds and do some laundry while Gracie ate her breakfast. The little girl's thoughts had wandered to the second angel around after a minute and she decided to invite him to have breakfast with her or alternatively pay her some company. Lucifer had only just gotten out of the hospital and needed his sleep so she could not simply go to wake him up after all.

"Of course you did," Lucifer snorted before he patted the top of Gracie's head.

"Did ya know that Alfie has to watch whatever we do now? All day long," Gracie explained with a slight frown. The little girl would be so bored having to do the angel's job, but then again she would also be incredibly bored doing her mother's job. Gracie shrugged before she added, "Just not the bathroom, 'cause that'd be in... ina..."

"Creepy as hell?" Lucifer offered the description that seemed fitting to him. Actually, privacy was not exactly a valued good in heaven and they had a completely different understanding of nudity in their true forms as well, so it was less a matter of finding a fitting description and more of trying to get a rise out of his little brother.

"I assure you that I know when I have to look away," Samandriel replied seriously. Balthazar's lessons at the very least, had given the angel an overview of all activities humans generally considered private. Samandriel could have done without the very graphic visual representations of those private moments his brother provided everyone attending the lecture with, but at least he knew exactly when to avoid his gaze that way.

"So, Samandriel, is this how you thought your career would go?" Lucifer asked in a fake pleasant tone, directly addressing his little brother for the first time. Heavenly careers were very boring and unremarkable in most cases. An angel was created, they were appointed a position and they kept it for all time unless a higher up was killed or fell from grace. In Lucifer's experience that was the way most angels liked it too, so having a change of career like Samandriel must have gone through recently would count as a bad thing for sure.

"I am happy to serve a worthwhile cause," Samandriel answered honestly.

"Let's talk again in a week or two," Lucifer huffed out a humorless laugh. The former archangel had no intentions to get rid of his little brother -and he still knew enough ways to severely harm or even kill an angel that he could use even as a human- but he also did not plan to make this easy for Samandriel.

"We can play Ludo in the meantime, 's funnier with three," Gracie interjected. The little girl did not ask Samandriel to join them just so the two angels could talk and ignore her. They could do that while she was at school or something. Gracie hopped off the chair and grabbed Lucifer's hand as she left the kitchen.

"Better watch her moves closely," Lucifer advised as he followed Gracie to the living room, "She cheats."

"Do not!" Gracie protested vehemently, pouting at the former archangel.

"Of course you do, how else would you win against me?" Lucifer claimed seriously, even as the corners of his mouth were twitching traitorously.

Samandriel smiled to himself as he followed the pair.

 

* * *

 

 

Raphael had come to hate the sounds in the police station. The sirens, the cell doors opening and closing, the guards checking in on him or bringing food three times a day. The former archangel did not want to touch any of the filth they gave him, but the hunger forced him too.

At least Raphael could adamantly refuse to give them any information. No matter how often they asked their stupid questions, no matter what they promised him.

Raphael narrowed his eyes when he heard steps approaching the cell. It was not yet time for another meal, so they probably hoped that Raphael would give them some answers after the second night in the cell.

"Your lawyer's here," the policeman announced before he clicked open the lock of the cell door.

Raphael frowned deeply, but kept silent. There was no use telling the puny human that the former archangel did not have a lawyer. Besides, if this was Raphael's chance to get out of this place, he would take it. At least that was what the former archangel thought until his eyes were drawn to the man standing next to the police officer.

"Hello, darlin'."

"You!"

 

* * *

 

 

"So, do you have wings?" Hope asked once her aunt and uncle went back into the house and left her alone with Michael in the garden. Technically they were meant to pull out weeds and what not, but they could still do that while they talked about angelic things.

"Not anymore," Michael replied after a few moments of silence. The former archangel decided to take it as a good sign that Hope brought up the topic, especially since it didn't sound like she was trying to mock him. "If I still had my wings, I would have shown them to you by now."

Hope nodded thoughtfully as she worked on separating the weeds from her aunt's flowers. Sometimes the difference between the two was not as big as she would have liked.

It made sense that Michael would have shown off his wings to prove his story, if he still had them. Hope realized that the missing wings should have made her more suspicious of Michael's story, but strangely it did not seem to matter.

"What were they like?" Hope asked as she looked over to Michael. The questions did not bother him for what it looked like which was good, because Hope could not have stopped them from coming if she tried.

"I... I don't know how to describe them," Michael admitted with a sigh. The mental image was there, clear as day, but Michael lacked the words to properly describe what he saw. He could have said they were just wings, like most birds had, but that would give Hope a very incomplete impression. The former archangel frowned as he looked down his body. "This is not... this is not my true form, at least it wasn't when..."

Over the past weeks, Michael had stopped looking at his reflection and seeing a young John Winchester. The former archangel started to think of the body as his own, felt at home in it, more than he had during the short time he was an archangel inhabiting John Winchester.

"Okay," Hope let out a slow breath. She appreciated that Michael was honest with her, at least it sounded like he was, even though it seemed to be hard for him. The young woman gave the former archangel an appraising look before she asked with a slight grin, "Were you actively trying for the underwear model look?"

Michael frowned deeply for a moment, before a suspicious look crossed his face, "Was that a joke?"

"Not a very good one if you have to ask," Hope shrugged, "Sorry, I'm just trying to..."

"Don't apologize, I genuinely appreciate your attempts to lighten the mood," Michael stated seriously before he smiled and added, "And I appreciate you asking those questions as if you believe me."

Hope swallowed heavily and fully concentrated on the garden work for a little while as she thought everything through. Maybe it was only due to her wanting to believe it was true that badly, but somehow a part of her -a hard to ignore part too- believed Michael's story. However, believing in something that should seem completely insane gave Hope the creeps. Maybe she had been told she was just like her father a few times too often...

"My dad once told me that one of the other guys in the psych ward thinks he's God," Hope stated noncommittally when the silence started to get to her.

"I think he's lying or delusional," Michael replied without missing a beat. Of course, they did not know where their father was, but it seemed unlikely that he would hide in a mental hospital of all places. Then again, given the circumstances, Michael had to admit that he did not know his father as well as he liked to think he did.

"I'll tell him that next time," Hope chuckled silently, "The archangel Michael says that's not his daddy."

"Maybe I should come along, just in case, to verify the truth of the statement for myself," Michael pondered with a small, amused smile.

"Was that a joke?" Hope asked, raising an eyebrow at the former archangel.

"Not a very good one if you have to ask," Michael parroted Hope's earlier statement.

"I like that side of you," Hope admitted with a smile, before she took a deep breath and asked, "Would you really... come along?"

"If you wanted me to, I would," Michael vowed as he covered Hope's hand with his.

The young woman smiled and leaned closer until their shoulders were touching. This was why she could not help believing in Michael, even if believing in his story seemed completely insane. Crazy or not, he was a good man... possibly the best she had ever known.


	22. Chapter 22

**21**

 

"Have you thought about my proposition?" Crowley asked as he poured whiskey into glasses for himself and his guest. The king of hell was pretty sure the former archangel could use some strong liquor, but given Raphael's physical condition Crowley would have to take care not to get her drunk. While that could have been fun under different circumstances, the king of hell intended to have a serious talk with the former archangel.

"I already told you to go to hell," Raphael retorted with as much vigor as he could muster. The hotel suite the demon brought the former archangel to, was much more to Raphael's standards than any place he had been in the past weeks, but that would not make him overlook the fact that it was a demon who had brought him here. If Crowley thought that Raphael was that easy to impress or buy, he was sorely mistaken.

"And I will do so, darling, gladly even, I have a business to run after all," Crowley stated in a casually charming tone before he handed one of the glasses he was holding to the former archangel, "But first we need to come to an understanding here."

"I will not be a pawn in your game, Crowley," Raphael spat. The former archangel was tempted to take the glass and throw it against the wall or some equally dramatic gesture, but something made him hold back. Crowley was a demon, one of the abominations Lucifer created to spite his brothers, but he had power. Power that Raphael lacked. The demon could kill him with a thought and Raphael had no death wish, yet.

"Archangels!" Crowley snorted, before a smirk crossed his face and he added, "Or should I say: Humans!"

The way the former archangel flinched at the title did not get past the king of hell. Someone clearly was not over the fact that their position in the cosmic order changed yet and Crowley had every intention to use it to his advantage.

"I am offering you a way to reclaim your position! Possibly the only way!" Crowley exclaimed, meeting Raphael's defiant gaze. The former archangel was only kidding herself, if she thought she could refuse Crowley's offer. Of course, the king of hell expected something in return, but all in all it was a reasonable price, especially considering that Raphael could become the one and only archangel in existence, the sole ruler of heaven.

"Of course, maybe you like being human, depending on the kindness -or should I say stupidity- of strangers, bowing to their rules and laws..." Crowley added in a lower tone, shrugging lightly.

It was easy to see that the king of hell's comment struck a chord with the former archangel, but Raphael remained stubbornly quiet. The former archangel did not want to stay human. The past weeks had been torturous already and Raphael had not even mingled with any humans outside of absolute necessity.

"You can walk out of this room anytime you want," Crowley offered with a fake nice smile. It was true that the king of hell had no use for the former archangel if she didn't agree to work with him. Of course, Crowley also gained nothing by leaving Raphael alive in that case. The king of hell had a feeling that the former archangel would not want to walk out the door after Crowley was done speaking anyway.

"In fact, the Winchesters and your dear little brother are out there looking for you this second," the demon added after a short dramatic pause, "I could drop you right in their lap, if that is what you want. Just say the word."

The way Raphael gritted her teeth and balled her fists told Crowley all too clearly what she thought of his suggestion. The former archangel really was making things by far too easy for the king of hell, but it suited Crowley just right. He had lost a lot of time from looking for any signs of the former archangels already.

"I'm sure Gabriel would be happy to see you," Crowley stated, raising his glass to take a swig for dramatic effect, "After all it was he who made all the archangels into humans."

The king of hell went to the door and held it open for the former archangel as a signal that she had to make a decision soon. Crowley was not a patient person and his all offers came with an expiration date. At least that was the impression he wanted to make. There were three other fallen archangels, but Gabriel was out of the question and realistically Raphael was the one Crowley had access to and the one most likely to eventually give in.

"Close the door," Raphael said decisively, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "I believe we have things to discuss."

* * *

 

 

The smoke coming from the metal dish on the rickety motel room table had cleared again about a minute earlier, but the Winchesters and Gabriel were still the only people in the room. Dean couldn't say that he was surprised, after all the king of hell probably had better things to do than to pay them a visit that moment. Not that the oldest Winchester intended to make that particular thought heard.

"Doesn't look like Crowley plans to show up," Sam stated as he ran his hand through his hair. They knew that Raphael was with Crowley, but that only meant that they could be anywhere on Earth or in hell really. Even if Crowley and Raphael were still in Joplin, they could hardly just barge in. Crowley might honor his deal to keep all demons away from the Winchesters, but there was that condition to the deal that said it only counted as long as the Winchesters did not come for them first.

"It was worth a shot," Dean pointed out with a shrug, "He might've wanted to gloat."

The oldest Winchester opened the newspaper as his younger brother cleared the table. There was nothing else they could do about Crowley that moment unless one of them wanted to make a deal. The former king of the crossroads might be too tempted by an offer like that to stay away. Then again Crowley was probably too smart to fall for a ruse like that and Dean would personally shoot the first idiot who even suggested something like a deal in the foot.

"We can't leave Raphael with Crowley!" Gabriel exclaimed clearly agitated, looking from Sam to Dean and back again. Granted, the former archangel had worked and made deals with the demon before, but that did not mean Gabriel trusted Crowley with one of his brothers, especially when they didn't have their powers anymore. The king of hell was the kind of person Gabriel -or rather Loki- could have a business relationship and casual friendship with, because and only because he had been the more powerful being.

"I know Gabe, but..." Sam started before his partner interrupted him.

"He could be..." Gabriel let his voice trail off because he did not want to put any of the very graphic images in his mind into words. There were endless possibilities of what Crowley could be doing to Raphael and none of them were good.

"I know. I'm sorry," Sam replied in a soft tone as he put his hand on Gabriel's back, "We'll find them, I promise, but it might take some time."

The younger Winchester already sent a message to Bobby. The older hunter might find a different way they could summon Crowley, preferably a summoning ritual the demon could not ignore. Maybe Jody could help them again in some way, or someone from Bobby's hunter network had useful information. Sam held on to the thought that they might have lost the battle, but the war was still going.

"And in the meantime there's a vampire octopus in Wichita," Dean stated, folding the newspaper so his brother and the former archangel could see the article the oldest Winchester found. There wasn't all too much information in the article and the source was not overly credible to begin with, but the place was only about two hours from their location so it would be worth checking out.

"You're kidding," Gabriel narrowed his eyes at Dean, uncertain if the oldest Winchester was actually serious or not.

"That's what the report..." Dean replied with a shrug. Of course the oldest Winchester would have preferred to have a lead on Crowley -the king of hell was the bigger problem here- but they had to acknowledge that there was nothing they could do about that matter and move on. Postponed, not abandoned. Chances were whatever Crowley was planning to do with Raphael would affect them in some way and they would have to cross paths then.

"No, you can't suggest... you can't... we're not just up and leaving!" Gabriel fought to find the right words to express his distaste for the plan of action the oldest Winchester was suggesting.

"We can't do anything about Raphael and Crowley, but people are dying right now," Dean retorted as he met Gabriel's eyes to make sure the former archangel understood how serious he was about this, "And it kinda sounds like your sort of thing."

Gabriel broke eye-contact with Dean after a few long, tense moments. Logically, the former archangel knew that the oldest Winchester had a point. If something described as a vampire octopus killed once it would not stop there. People were in danger and saving people, hunting things was what they do. Gabriel signed up for the life voluntarily and would have to bear the consequences of his decision. That didn't mean he had to like it though.

"Gabe..." Sam sighed when the former archangel started to pack his belongings back into his duffle bag with a little too much force. Granted, the younger Winchester was glad that Gabriel was essentially punching his clothes instead of Dean, but he still didn't like that display of helpless frustration.

"Dean is right," Gabriel replied, doing his best to give Sam a small smile, "We don't even know if Crowley and Raphael are still around, there's no use staying here."

The younger Winchester simply nodded. Gabriel was doing his best to be reasonable and Sam could only imagine how hard that had to be for him.

Gabriel was still packing when Sam wrapped his arms around his shoulders. The former archangel tensed for a moment before he allowed himself to relax into the embrace. Gabriel thought the kiss Sam pressed to his temple was a promise that everything would be fine and so help him father he wanted to believe it.

 

* * *

 

 

"Don't be like that, Terry," Adam stated encouragingly as he steered the car into their driveway, "I swear you did fine."

Tarot did his best to smile at his friend when their eyes met in the rearview mirror, but the angel's entire body language still spoke of defeat. Rationally, Tarot knew that he would run into tasks that seemed insurmountable again and again before he ever managed to appear like just one of the guys when they were out in public. Unfortunately the knowledge did nothing against the feeling that he had failed once again that moment.

"Walmart is overwhelming to a lot of people," Chuck pointed out before he cleared his throat awkwardly. Granted, a Walmart -no matter how big- was not exactly scary in the prophet's eyes, but there was just too much to look at. Chuck always felt a little like a headless chicken running in circles when he tried to find something specific.

"We'll just go to a smaller store next time," Adam promised, turning around to look directly at his friend after he parked the car. So what if Tarot panicked and transported himself back into the car? Nobody had seen it and if anything it was Adam's fault for misjudging how much his friend could take yet.

"Don't!" Tarot exclaimed before he lowered his voice to just above a whisper, "Not because... because of me."

The angel's ultimate goal was to live a normal life with his two friends. He would have to learn to deal with all the situations that overwhelmed him to achieve that. Tarot himself did not believe he could ever reach that goal, but Adam seemed to believe it. If his human friend kept him away from situations because he acknowledged that Tarot could in fact not handle them, what hope to ever be normal did he have left?

"Look, Chuck doesn't like Walmart either," Adam insisted, twisting in his seat until he managed to reach back and squeeze Tarot's shoulder, "And there's nothing wrong with expecting your family to be considerate of your feelings."

Tarot blinked slowly a couple of times as he thought things through. By the time they left the car and started to carry the shopping bags inside the angel was smiling. Being a member of the family was much more important than being normal, whatever that meant in the first place. Besides, if Chuck did not like overly big stores either that meant at least some people shared the angel's aversion.

"Morning Mrs. Finch!" Adam greeted their elderly next door neighbor as he made a short stop at the mailbox. As it turned out most of the people living in their street were significantly older than Adam and marginally older than Chuck -realistically, no human could be expected to be older than Tarot, even though the angel never really said how old he was- but most of them were very nice people who minded their own business. In fact Mrs. Finch was the nosiest one by far, but at least she always brought muffins along with the newest gossip.

"Good morning, Adam," Mrs. Finch smiled at the young man, acknowledging his two cousins with a short nod. Of the three Adam was the one who was easiest to talk to. Chuck never showed interest and only made awkward comments and Terry hardly ever spoke to her or even made eye contact. It was hard to believe they came from the same family sometimes.

"Looks like one of you got something important in the mail," Mrs. Finch added with a nice smile, nodding toward the mailbox when Adam didn't open it quickly enough.

"Has somebody been stalking the mailman again?" Adam retorted with a grin. As Mrs. Finch announced, there was a big envelope next to the newspaper and bulk mail they got every day.

"It's not my fault that he is the most exciting thing that ever comes through around here," Mrs. Finch waved her hand casually, her eyes never leaving the envelope. It looked like there would be exciting news and she had a chance to be one of the first to hear them.

"What does Mr. Finch have to say to...?" Adam asked distractedly as he opened the envelope. It was addressed to him and there were not many people who would send him something to begin with.

"Adam?" Chuck asked with a deep frown when the youngest Winchester fell silent and stood stock-still for a few long moments.

"I..." Adam swallowed heavily, blinking a couple of times before the reality of what he read sunk in completely and he let out a victorious yell that caught everyone by surprise. "I'm going to med school!"

A few of their newly acquired groceries landed on the lawn when Adam spun Chuck around a couple of times and hugged Tarot tight. Mrs. Finch could only shake her head over the young man's antics, but the moment he grabbed her shoulders and kissed her cheek she too couldn't help smiling.


	23. Chapter 23

**22**

 

Gabriel insisted that something like a vampire octopus did not exist, no matter what the wounds on the victim's body suggested. Seriously, if a creature like that had been real, Gabriel would have heard of it before. As Dean pointed out, it was right up the former trickster's alley. There was the very slim chance that a vampire octopus had come into existence during the months of the Apocalypse, when Gabriel had been too busy with other things to pay too much attention to obscurities like that, or over the course of the past few weeks, but it seemed unlikely. However, they had no better idea of what their monster of the week was, so they had no other choice than to treat it as if it was real.

Dean of course volunteered to talk to the nanny of the family, while Sam and Gabriel were left behind to observe the house. In all honesty, Sam did not expect to hear from Dean anytime soon. His older brother had the perfect opportunity to chat up a -presumably- young, attractive woman and the family was safe while Sam and Gabriel were watching them like hawks. The always worried part of the younger Winchester's mind could not help from thinking of the chance that the nanny was the witch who had conjured up the monster and Dean might be in trouble. As it turned out, neither suspicion was true.

A short phone call later, Sam and Gabriel left their hiding place and went up to the house. Dean insisted that the young daughter of the victim was the one they had to talk to and the girl was out on the boardwalk, drawing something in crayon.

"Hey there," Gabriel greeted the girl as he crouched down next to her, "Kelly, right?"

Sam was happy to leave the questioning to his partner in this case. It wasn't that the younger Winchester did not like kids, but he mostly felt awkward around them. Gabriel obviously loved children –if not proven by his god status, then reaffirmed from his time from the Weechesters- and knew just how to handle them. Instead Sam took a closer look at the crayon drawing Kelly had been working on. Now if that wasn't a vampire octopus...

"You talked to my mom earlier," Kelly replied, looking back to the house nervously. Three men had come to speak to her mother about her father's death earlier and her mom had not been pleased by it. She probably wouldn't like it if Kelly spoke to them, but the girl had something to say. If only she knew how to express it.

"An observant little lady, I like that," Gabriel stated with a nice smile, "I bet you also know why I want to talk to you."

By the looks of it, the girl knew exactly why they wanted to talk to her. However, it was just as obvious that she was afraid to open her mouth. The former archangel had a hard time imagining what it would be like to be an ordinary human, with no knowledge of the supernatural, then being thrown right into it and having to talk about it to people you were pretty sure would not believe you. He was pretty sure he knew how to get a person like that to open up though, especially when that someone was a child.

"It's okay," Gabriel said in a soft tone, carefully reaching out for the girl's hand and squeezing it when he was sure the gesture would not freak her out, "We're here to help, not judge you."

The look of absolute sincerity on Gabriel's face was one of the reasons Sam fell in love with him in the first place.

"I... tried to... to warn him," Kelly mumbled, averting her eyes. She was not supposed to talk about these things. Her mother made sure she understood that after she told the police about the monster in her closet.

"Your dad?" Gabriel asked, keeping his tone level, "He didn't listen?"

"He didn't believe in... the monster," Kelly confirmed in a shaky voice.

Unfortunately it was at that moment that Kelly's mother came out of the house to drag her daughter away from the two agents talking to her. Sam stepped in to give Gabriel a little more time, but the younger Winchester doubted that more than maybe a minute was in the cards.

"Look at me," Gabriel instructed in a firm, but gentle tone, waiting until the girl's eyes met his before he added, "I believe you and we're going to get rid of that monster, I swear."

Kelly looked so relieved that it tugged on all of the former archangel's heartstrings. They could not give the kid her father back, but they could make sure that she could feel safe -or at least safer- again.

"See the big guy? He's the best monster hunter in the country. Kicking monster butt left and right," Gabriel claimed in all seriousness, giving Sam a quick side glance, "Just tell me everything you know."

 

* * *

 

 

It was strange how Hope started to think of the bench they were sitting on as theirs even though she and Michael were only sitting there together for the second time. It helped that Hope let Michael lead the way this time and he had immediately steered them toward this spot, so he apparently had similar feelings.

"Not that this isn't nice," Hope stated with a slight shrug a moment later, "But... what brought on this sudden craving for ice cream?"

Of all the things Michael could have suggested, he went for going back to the ice cream parlor Hope brought him to weeks ago. The young woman couldn't say that she was against the idea, but she was not quite sure what Michael's motives were. Chances were the former archangel only went for something he knew already and there was nothing more to it, but something about the whole situation felt like there was more significance to it.

"There are twenty flavors and I felt like I should know more than just one," Michael replied seriously, but with a nice smile, "Besides, I wanted to spend time with you."

"'Cause we're not doing enough of that usually," Hope retorted before she could stop herself. She had not meant to rebuff the former archangel in any way, but it was a fact that they spent most of their waking moments together by now. Not that Hope saw a reason to change anything about that. Maybe she should have grown tired of having Michael around all the time already, but the truth was that she missed none of the things she used to fill her time with before. If Hope was completely honest she would have to admit that she had only been drifting from one thing to the next anyway.

"There's never too much of a good thing," Michael pointed out with a slightly cheeky half-smile.

"Right," Hope laughed, before a thought crossed her mind, "It's probably all kinds of wrong to disagree with an archangel anyway."

Of course, Hope had done her fair share of disagreeing with Michael and getting him to do things her way over the past weeks, so if any of that was a capital sin, she was already screwed.

"I disagree," Michael replied without missing a beat. Even though the former archangel still knew a lot of things that a human -not even a remarkable one like Hope- could not even dream to know, he now realized that knowing facts was not everything.

"You disagree on...?" Hope asked with a frown, before she realized what Michael most likely meant to say, "You want me to disagree with you?"

"Whenever you feel it's needed," Michael nodded seriously, "I feel like I could've used more of that."

Actually, Lucifer was one of the only people who ever openly disagreed with Michael before. While things ended very badly between them Michael now realized that nobody questioning and challenging him had not led to anything good either. The former archangel still didn't think that Lucifer's way had been the right one, but his own path had only led him to disappointment, loneliness and even failure.

"It's very enlightening," Michael added after a moment of silence.

Hope studied the former archangel's profile for a while before she nodded. Maybe she had not missed any of the frivolous things she used to do before Michael came into her life, because none of them ever made her feel like she was doing something important. Somehow just doing the most mundane things with the former archangel did exactly that.

 

* * *

 

 

"You are insane!" Raphael exclaimed, before Crowley could finish explaining his plan. The former archangel did not need to hear even a word more anyway. The king of hell clearly was insane if he thought that Raphael would even consider assisting with his scheme. "This is... appalling, even for your standards!"

The king of hell could not say that he was surprised by the former archangel's reaction. In fact, Crowley counted on it. Just as he counted on the fact that he would be able to make Raphael change her mind. The former archangel could deny it all she wanted, but being human already wore down her angelic standards. Maybe his plan sounded insane and appalling to her now, but the reward she could get out of going along with it would prove too good to resist before long.

Crowley took a swig of his whiskey before he casually replied, "I prefer the word ambitious."

"This is going to tear..." Raphael started what would have become a long rant, if another demon had not chosen this exact moment to interrupt them.

Nothing about the king of hell's seemingly relaxed stance gave away that he was considering a dozen different ways to punish his minion for cutting short his discussion with the former archangel, but the demon must have sensed that he was in trouble anyway as he was quick to explain, "Your highness, we have news of..."

Crowley immediately waved his hand to let the other demon know he would be in serious trouble if he said even a word more. There were different options on who exactly the king's minions might have found new information on, but Crowley did not want for Raphael to know either way.

"Looks like we'll have to finish this conversation later, darlin'," Crowley stated with a nice smile, giving Raphael a pat on the shoulder before he followed the other demon out of the room with a snap, "Kingly duties."

 

* * *

 

 

"Wow, I mean wow. Could she be any more paranoid? Sure, take the chance of a monster eating even more members of your family over working with the feds," Gabriel ranted as he and Sam entered the motel room where Dean was already waiting, "I'm so proud to be an American right now!"

Kelly's mother pulled the girl away before she could reveal more about the monster she believed was living in her closet. Gabriel wanted to tell the woman in no uncertain terms that she was hindering their investigation, but looking at how they used fake names and badges it didn't seem like a smart idea to draw too much attention to them.

"American? Don't you come from a little further... up North?" Dean huffed out a laugh. Granted, the former archangel could hardly claim he came from heaven in any of the legal papers he made for himself. Given the former trickster's dramatic personality, Dean would have assumed that he would choose a much more exotic nationality for himself. Hell, the oldest Winchester would not have been surprised if Gabriel claimed to be from around the Arctic Circle for shits and giggles and just so he could say things like 'Yes, I really am from up there'.

"Not according to my ID, Dean-o," Gabriel replied with a smug grin as he pulled his ID out of his wallet and basically threw it at the oldest Winchester.

"Kansas," Dean commented after taking a quick glance. Of all the states in the country, of course the trickster had to choose theirs. Not that the oldest Winchester could honestly say he was surprised. He figured out the reason for Gabriel's choice even before the former archangel pointed it out to him.

"Of course, you're from Lawrence, I'm from Lawrence," Gabriel shrugged casually, before he turned to look at Sam and added, "I figured we could be childhood sweethearts."

"Yeah?" the younger Winchester replied with an amused smile. To tell the truth, Sam never gave the fake backstory he and Gabriel would have to make up to tell to everyone who could not know how things really went much thought. The younger Winchester figured that he could make up something on the spot if he had to, or -more likely- Gabriel would take care of it. Obviously, Sam had not been wrong.

"Mhm," the former archangel hummed contently. They would always know that it wasn't how things went, but Gabriel liked the thought of telling people that they had known each other all their lives.

"More like you're a creep preying on little boys," Dean snorted, giving Gabriel a pointed look before he even noticed the bewildered expression on Sam's face, "Hey, don't look at me like that! His ID says he's eight years older than you're! I would've so kicked his ass before he ever got close to you!"

Even if they had the semblance of a normal childhood like they apparently did in Gabriel's little story, Dean liked to think he would be no less protective of his younger brother. The thought of someone that much older than Sam taking an interest in his innocent little brother made the hairs at the back of Dean's neck stand on edge, even if it was a fake scenario.

"Not like it was a relationship before you were in college. We were friends before," Gabriel clarified, rolling his eyes dramatically at Dean's antics before he added with a wink, "Maybe a bit of a kiddy crush."

The former archangel liked Dean, he really did, but the thought of a pouty little Dean being pissed off about his baby brother being friends with an older boy just made the scenario better in Gabriel's mind. Besides, it would explain why the older Winchester had a bit of a difficult relationship with his little brother's partner to this day.

"You'll have to explain all that to me in detail someday soon," Sam chuckled. If they had a long history together the younger Winchester figured he should know about it. He didn't want to be the one who 'forgot' all the details while his partner had to remind him of all their milestones.

"Don't forget to tell him since when you two are married," Dean stated in a clearly unimpressed tone, "Unless you meant to say dad had another kid we knew nothing about."

Gabriel's eyes widened nearly comically as he realized that he must have handed Dean the wrong ID accidentally. In all honesty, the former archangel had every intention to only use the Shurley one until he had the chance to discuss matters with Sam. It wasn't like Gabriel intended to simply walk up to Sam and say 'Hey, we're married, deal with it!' some day. The former archangel simply did not know what Sam's thoughts on marriage -and especially being married to Gabriel- were yet, but it was an unfortunate side-effect of their lifestyle that one of them could end up in the hospital any moment. Gabriel knew that being unrelated by blood or marriage and them being a gay couple he would not stand a chance to be allowed to even see Sam if anything happened to the hunter, so he made a backup plan.

"If that's what you're going for," Dean added after a moment of consideration, "That's fucked up, dude."

The oldest Winchester was not completely sure if Sam didn't know that Gabriel made himself a Winchester or if his younger brother conveniently forgot to mention that little detail. Then again, judged by the former archangels uncomfortable and slightly panicky look Gabriel had he might very well have intentionally neglected to inform Sam of their marital status.

"What're you...?" Sam asked with a deep frown until his older brother passed Gabriel's ID on to him. The moment the younger Winchester's eyes fell on the name the former archangel chose to give himself he did not need to finish his question. "Oh."

"Looks like you were a bigamist for a while there Sammy."


	24. Chapter 24

**23**

 

"Don't forget the pie, Sammy!" Dean's voice announced suddenly and loudly.

Sam was man enough to admit that he jumped when he heard his brother's voice. It wasn't about what Dean said or even how he said it. The fact that Sam and Gabriel were out to get dinner while Dean was back at the motel to do some research was reason enough to get worried for his brother's mental state.

"What...?" the younger Winchester frowned deeply, turning toward his partner to see if Gabriel knew what was going on just as Dean's voice made itself heard again.

"Don't forget the pie, Sammy!"

This time Sam was less surprised which allowed him to notice that his older brother's voice was in fact coming from the pocket of his jacket. The younger Winchester pulled his phone out of his pocket just in time for the arrival of the third text message, which again set off what had to be a custom made ringtone.

"Since when does Dean even know how to...?" Sam huffed as he lowered the volume on his phone. The people closest to them were already staring and it seemed Dean was determined to send a text message every five seconds. Actually, the demands for pie came in much too quickly for his older brother to type them out too. Programming a quick message to send and changing Sam's ringtone were both things his technically inept brother should not have been able to do. The younger Winchester did not believe Dean put enough energy into his little prank to figure out both things by himself. Of course, Sam was standing right next to the trickster. "You!"

"I thought you'd be happy if I bonded with Dean-o," Gabriel replied, a perfect mask of innocence on his face for all of three seconds before he started to laugh.

"Don't forget the pie, Sammy!" Dean's voice demanded once more, prompting Sam to mute his phone completely.

"You know, most people don't bond with the in-laws by annoying their partner," the younger Winchester retorted as he gave Gabriel a pointed look. Dean wasn't the Winchester who could ban Gabriel from the king sized bed and make him sleep on the couch after all. Not that Sam was too tempted to do anything alike. He would be punishing himself as much as Gabriel with it after all.

"In-laws, huh?" the former archangel asked, trying to keep his tone light and casual. They had not talked about their marital status since Sam found out it changed. There was no better moment than when they were standing in a diner, waiting for their take out. At least no better moment they could realistically hope for in the near future with their luck.

"Apparently. You made it so," Sam pointed out with a crooked smile.

"About that..." Gabriel cleared his throat awkwardly before he gave his partner the best apologetic look he was capable of, "How angry are you?"

"Honestly, I... I don't know. Not very, I guess," Sam answered honestly even as he squeezed Gabriel's hand reassuringly. The younger Winchester didn't want the former archangel to think that he was all too mad. At the same time Sam did not want to hide that he was disappointed. Granted, being married was much more about spending a lifetime together than it was about the wedding or the proposal, but the younger Winchester still felt like Gabriel had taken something away from him -from them really- with the stunt he pulled. "It's not like I'd have said no if you'd actually asked."

In fact, what really bothered Sam about the entire incident was that Gabriel obviously still didn't fully believe that they were meant to be together. There was no doubt whatsoever that the former archangel wanted to be with the younger Winchester, but every time something that put their relationship to the test came up it seemed that Gabriel fully expected Sam to balk.

"I'm an idiot," Gabriel proclaimed with so much vigor it caused a few raised eyebrows from the people around them.

"Don't say that all the time," Sam replied with a small smile, "I always feel bad for agreeing with you."

Gabriel smiled sheepishly until Sam leaned in for a quick peck to the lips. Their conversation was over the moment the waitress came back with their order, but the most important points had been made anyway.

The dessert display was right next to the register as Sam noticed when he pulled out his wallet to pay for their food. Even the younger Winchester had to admit that the apple pie looked good enough to roll around in, but then he threw a quick glance at the display of his phone. Usually twenty-three text messages from Dean would have been a reason for alarm, but Sam was willing to bet that this case was fundamentally different.

"I think we've got everything," Sam announced as he gave the waitress a nice smile and grabbed the paper bags. The younger Winchester noticed how Gabriel threw a longing gaze toward the pies, which should teach him a lesson about teaming up with the wrong Winchester. Gabriel and Dean made their bed, now they had to sleep in it.

 

* * *

 

 

Chuck insisted that Adam's subdued mood over dinner was nothing to worry about. In fact, the prophet thought it was completely normal after the youngest Winchester's euphoria earlier. Everything that went up had to come down eventually, even if it was Adam's mood.

Despite Chuck's reassurance it didn't take Tarot long to make up his mind and walk up the stairs to talk to his friend. After all it was completely normal for Tarot to panic and freeze whenever something he could not deal with -especially something triggering bad memories- came up, but that never kept Adam from being there for him.

"Can I...?" Tarot asked quietly, only opening the door to Adam's room wide enough to peek inside.

"Sure, no problem... uh... what's up?" the youngest Winchester asked as he turned away from his laptop. Adam was quick to put a smile on his face, but not quite fast enough.

"You are..." Tarot started before he reconsidered his statement and amended, "I think you are upset."

"Nah, I'm good," Adam replied a little too quickly, waving his hand for emphasis. He had been accepted to med school -his first choice, only half an hour from home too- and was on the best path to get the normal part of his life back on track. What was not to love about that? Adam got exactly what he wanted. Maybe a couple details were not exactly what he always dreamed of, but when were they ever? All in all, everything was awesome.

"You don't..." Tarot mumbled, before he squared his shoulders and added in a still quiet but much stronger tone, "You don't always have to be the strong one."

The sandy-haired seraph might not have been completely sure if he wasn't seeing things before, but his friend's reaction was definitely off. Tarot knew what Adam was like when he had a good day or even a normal day and this was neither of those.

"Have you been watching the Disney channel again?" Adam huffed out a laugh. The youngest Winchester gestured for Tarot to sit in the second desk chair. Having a conversation while one of them was standing was awkward and Adam would not kid himself into believing that their talk was over.

"Yes, but that's... not the point," Tarot replied without missing a beat. The angel knew his friend had made a joke, but he would not allow Adam to change the topic, at least not on the first try.

The youngest Winchester met Tarot's eyes for a few moments before he sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly. "Okay, look, it's stupid..."

The sandy-haired seraph didn't think it could get any stupider than them watching a funny show about a fake psychic on TV and Tarot having a major panic attack over one of the characters' resemblance to Zachariah. Even then Adam insisted that having a strong reaction to something seemingly minor was nothing to be ashamed about. Tarot had no control over these things, just like Adam had no control over something bringing him down. The angel would see it through with his friend, just like they always did when their roles were reversed.

"I just wish... y'know, my mom's never gonna know..." Adam admitted with a small, forced smile. The youngest Winchester's eyes were drawn to the website of the _UFC College of Medicine_ still open on his laptop. Of course it was Adam's dream to become a doctor, but his mother had always shared the dream with him and supported him in any way she could. As things were Kate would never know that it was finally coming true.

"She will know some day, when you..." Tarot stated, mirroring Adam's smile. It was by no means easy for the angel to think about a time when Adam would inevitably be gone, but in this case there was something positive about it. His friend would die some day, it was only natural, and when the time came he would be reunited with his mother. Even if the paths of their individual heavens would not cross by themselves, a little angelic assistance could go a long way.

"Thanks," Adam replied sincerely as he put his hand on Tarot's shoulder, "And thanks for not suggesting that you could..."

The youngest Winchester supposed that an angel -Tarot himself or, more likely, one of the others- could find his mom and tell her the news. They had found Adam up there after all. However, the best thing about being in heaven, as far as the youngest Winchester was concerned, had been not really knowing that you were dead and most of all not realizing what that meant for everyone left behind. Being reunited in a couple of decades when they were once more both dead was something else entirely.

"I didn't think... you'd like that," Tarot explained with a slightly nervous smile. Besides this most important issue it also was not the seraph's place to offer something he could not provide. Tarot doubted he could have gone back to heaven even if he wanted to that moment. He was not ready to go back and face the other angels. Maybe one day... maybe when Adam and Chuck were in heaven... maybe then it would feel enough like home to return.

"You know, sometimes it's nearly scary how well you know me," Adam smiled -a real smile that reached his eyes- patting Tarot's shoulder once more, "It's always the quiet ones..."

"We're family."

 

* * *

 

 

"You have to buy your own clothes," Nadine announced as casually as she could. As it turned out it was pretty much impossible to have a conversation with Lucifer without Gracie being present as well. The former archangel usually retired around Grace's bedtime and hardly came out of his room when the girl was at school. That combined with the fact that Nadine was not around all day long either meant she never had the opportunity to address some issues just between adults. As little as Lucifer even counted as an adult with his limited knowledge of and disregard for manners.

"With a compelling argument like that, all I can say is f..." Lucifer replied sweetly before he remembered Gracie was sitting next to him and he changed the end of his statement, "Forget it."

"You're gonna need coins for the swearin' jar," Gracie giggled. The little girl knew all too well what the former archangel nearly said there and she also knew that adults never managed to watch their language all of the time. Of course, they still expected kids to do so.

"I won't have the devil walk around in my husband's clothes!" Nadine exclaimed vehemently before she could stop herself.

"But mom!" Gracie started to object immediately. After all the little girl had been the one to give the clothes to Lucifer. He had permission to use them and Gracie still thought that her dad would have been completely okay with it, if she could have asked him.

"I'm not the devil!" Lucifer pressed through gritted teeth. Balthazar could insist all he wanted that devil was a title Lucifer would never get rid of. The annoying fledgling was not living with them, so his opinion was nothing the former archangel had to concern himself with. At least not yet. Actually, Grace's opinion was the only one Lucifer honestly cared about, but he had to give a damn about Samandriel and Nadine's opinion since they were a constant presence in his life as well.

"Satan, Anti-Christ, fallen angel..." Nadine retorted, falsely assuming that the man wanted to argue about semantics with her once again, "Whatever you are, I won't stand for it!"

"I'm not any of those things anymore!" Lucifer answered, his voice getting gradually louder until he yelled, "I'm not anything anymore!"

"You're my friend," Gracie mumbled into the silence that fell between them after Lucifer was done shouting. The little girl reached out for the former archangel's arm, but Lucifer stood up and walked away before Gracie could touch him. "Mom!"

Lucifer could not say what led his way back to the garden and toward the playhouse he spent his first few weeks as a human in. He had to get out of the house before he said or did something he would regret. Lucifer would be lying if he said he didn't have the urge to destroy something -or someone- that moment, but he knew it was not an option and not only because Samandriel would step in before anything significant was destroyed. Actually, the real issue was that Samandriel would not be able to step in before the most important thing Lucifer still had was damaged. He would not risk losing the bond he had with Grace, he would calm down and play it nice as he had done in the past days.

Apparently, Nadine was determined to make it hard for Lucifer to go through with his plan. The former archangel really wished the woman had chosen to simply stay away and allow them both to completely ignore the unfortunate incident ever happened.

"Look, I... I'm sorry, I was out of line," Nadine stated in an apologetic tone. She could admit when she was unfair and as things were Lucifer had done nothing wrong, which could not be said for Nadine. It was doubtful if he would give her the chance to explain herself and it was questionable how things would progress from there, but it was worth a try. "I really just can't stand..."

"Me," Lucifer deadpanned, fixing the woman's honey brown eyes with his icy blue ones.

"No, it's... it's not about... it's not about you," Nadine admitted, closing her eyes for a moment before she managed to speak on, "I really just can't stand seeing his clothes."

There was a reason Nadine packed up all of her husband's things and stored them in the basement. They had been an always present, unwanted reminder that someone was missing while they were still around. Seeing somebody else wearing Joshua's clothes felt like a broad hint to move on and Nadine simply was not ready to.

Lucifer was silent for a few long moments, weighing his options. The woman in front of him was extremely vulnerable that moment and he knew it. It would be easy to hurt her. He would not even have to say anything too far out of line. In a way it would only be payback -an eye for an eye and all that- for her hurtful words toward him as well.

Then there was Gracie -and to some extent, surprising as it was, Samandriel- who honestly believed that Lucifer could change and that he could be a better person.

"I want to see this shopping mall Gracie keeps rambling on about anyway."

 

* * *

 

 

"Y'know, searching for monsters in closets is just frustrating," Sam groaned. The younger Winchester was close to banging his head against the table in frustration. Even the usually rather reliable sources had nothing useful. They simply had too little information and a much too broad search key. "And the Octo-Vamp isn't much better."

Sam leaned back in his chair and stretched until his back felt less like he had just spent too much time uselessly looking up information.

"Okay, can't say there's too much lore on Vamp-Opus," Sam huffed out a humorless chuckle. Of course, it was unlikely at this point that the vampire octopus was the real problem here. If they were dealing with a monster in a closet it was much more likely that it was some kind of shape-shifting creature. Since the search was fruitless anyway, the younger Winchester decided he might as well use his time in a more productive manner and spend time with his partner. Thinking about it, the former archangel had been suspiciously quiet the entire time. "Gabe?"

When his partner didn't reply for another couple seconds Sam turned around only to find Gabriel standing next to their bed, his ID and what seemed to be their marriage certificate in hand. The moment their eyes met, the former archangel tore up the piece of paper he was holding.

Any other time watching the former archangel trying and failing to simply rip his ID in two would have been funny, but that moment the gesture was only confusing. "Gabe, what...?"

"Will you marry me?" Gabriel asked, dropping to one knee so quickly that it should have hurt if not for the adrenaline coursing through the former archangel's veins, "Soon as it's made legal in any of the states we pass through, or when there's a monster attack in one where it's already legal, or when we manage to get Dean-o to drive us across the country for something chick-flick-y like a wedding; Whatever happens first."

Sam was sure he had to look spectacularly stupid just sitting there while Gabriel was on his knee in front of him. It took a few moments until the younger Winchester even realized that his jaw must have dropped when Gabriel started speaking.

"Or we can have a big wedding with lots of planning, if you'd prefer that," Gabriel rambled on when Sam did not reply immediately, "I really just want you to be my husband... and cake, there needs to be cake. You know how I am when it comes to..."

The younger Winchester was finally brought out of his stupor when his partner's rambling made him laugh. Maybe the perfect, romantic proposal looked different, but this was very... them. Sam finally managed to stop laughing long enough to pull Gabriel to his feet and kiss him deeply before he answered, "Yes."

"Yes?"

"Told you I wouldn't say no."


	25. Chapter 25

**24**

 

"I don't think that's a coincidence," Sam stated, pulling their 'borrowed' car out of Plucky Pennywhistle's parking lot. The children of both their victims had been there the day before they died. Both kids had drawn a picture of their worst fear and both those pictures had vanished. Even if Sam believed in coincidences as soon as anything supernatural was involved, this simply could not be one. "What do you...?"

The younger Winchester stopped speaking the moment he threw a side-glance toward the former archangel and realized that his partner was bent over a piece of paper. Somehow it did not exactly look like Gabriel was doing research.

"Gabe, what are you doing?" Sam finally asked with a deep frown when the former archangel showed no signs of wanting to give an explanation without being prompted.

"I'll show you when I'm done!" Gabriel replied, only looking up long enough to give Sam an all too gleeful, child-like grin before he went back to work.

"Seriously? You stole one of their placemats, really?" the younger Winchester groaned. The short moment Gabriel looked at him gave Sam the chance to get a better look at the sheet of paper the former archangel was working on. Apparently, Gabriel did not share Sam's strong distaste for the whole 'Plucky will make the fear disappear' thing.

"I resent that! They're giving them away for free... the crayons on the other hand..." Gabriel retorted, this time not even looking up before he added, "Now hush, I have art to create here!"

"As I was saying, I don't think it's exactly a coincidence that the placemats of Kelly and Billy were missing," Sam said after a moment of silence. If Gabriel wanted to draw his own greatest fear and wait for Plucky to make it disappear that was all fine and dandy, but they had a case to solve here. Besides it was much more likely that the former archangel was only drawing for shits and giggles anyway.

"Probably not, besides if Kelly's little sidewalk drawing is anything to go by..." Gabriel agreed with his partner, before he looked up from his drawing once more, "Hey muffin, what do you think would happen if you drew your worst fear on one of those? I mean, Plucky's supposed to make the fear disappear, but..."

Sam's most impressive bitchface made an instant appearance before he stared stubbornly ahead. The younger Winchester was still driving, he was supposed to pay attention to the road anyway. It helped his driving when Gabriel made stupid jokes that Sam did not appreciate and thus made ignoring him a viable option.

"Don't be like that," Gabriel stated with a slight pout. Fine, his stupid joke was not appreciated, but it was only a joke all the same!

"It's just awesome that you and Dean are having so much fun with..." Sam replied with more heat in his voice than he originally intended. The younger Winchester realized that it was ridiculous for him to be afraid of clowns of all things, but he would have thought that his older brother and fiancé would be a little more sympathetic. Then again, it was Dean and Gabriel he was talking about...

"Woah, stop right there!" Gabriel exclaimed, "I'm not making fun of your fear!"

Sam huffed and gave his partner a pointed look.

"No, I'm not! Well okay, but not too much," Gabriel amended. Sam had to know that the former archangel was just teasing him. They had a talk like this when Sam was temporarily eight years old and Gabriel already told him his thoughts on the topic, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to remind the younger Winchester. "C'mon, everybody is afraid of something and... in fact, I really get it."

Sam sighed deeply, but didn't comment.

"You come from a family where the things that scare you have to be at least as afraid of you as you're of them," Gabriel explained in a gentle tone once it became clear that Sam did not want to contribute to the conversation, "Except for clowns."

After all most clowns were humans in costumes and not on the list of things that were acceptable to kill at first sight for most hunters.

"You know, that's... I've never looked at it like that," Sam frowned as he thought about his partner's words.

"If you could rationalize it, it wouldn't be a phobia," Gabriel pointed out as he reached for Sam's shoulder to give it a reassuring squeeze. Actually, the fact that Sam could not rationalize his fear might make it even worse for the hunter. The former archangel liked to think that he knew his partner very well. Things Sam did not understand and could not explain tended to make the hunter very uncomfortable. The instincts just came with the job. Add to that whatever childhood trauma caused the fear in the first place and you got an adult moose who was deadly afraid of clowns.

Sam looked away from the street just long enough to smile at Gabriel. At least that was what the younger Winchester planned to do, until he caught a glimpse of what the former archangel had been drawing Sam had to neglect paying attention to the road for a moment longer. "What _is_ that?"

"Dean with a shotgun," Gabriel explained with a smirk and a shrug. The former archangel thought it was pretty obvious that he had drawn the older Winchester with all the plaid and the amulet. Granted, the stick figure was green and had a bit of a Shrek vibe, but Gabriel had only managed to steal red, blue and green crayons so he had to take some artistic liberties.

"Why're you afraid of...?" Sam asked, letting his voice trail off when he saw the wide grin on his partner's face.

"The scene takes place after we tell him we're getting married for real," Gabriel explained, leaning in to plant a quick kiss on Sam's cheek. Chances were Dean would take the news like a champ since he already thought his little brother and the former archangel were married, but with a Winchester you always had to expect the unexpected.

 

* * *

 

 

In all honesty, Hope fully expected Michael to demand to shut the movie off in the first couple of minutes. She only put that specific DVD into the player as a joke to begin with. Surprisingly enough, Michael never voiced his distaste for _Dogma_ and even seemed to find some of the scenes humorous.

Michael had not exactly been sure why Hope chose that specific movie to watch for them in the first place. After it became clear that it was a film about angels and searching for God the former archangel assumed Hope thought it was somewhat fitting for their situation. Of course, it was a work of fiction and meant to be taken humorous to boot, so there wasn't too much Michael could relate to.

It took an embarrassingly long time before the former archangel realized that the young woman had tried to make a joke at his expense. Michael was however pleased that realization hit before he gave any kind of reaction that would amuse Hope too much. In fact, he decided to turn this around on her.

"That is a surprisingly realistic depiction of my father," the former archangel commented the moment God, in the form of Alanis Morissette, came on screen.

Hope's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she managed to ask, "Seriously?!"

Michael managed to keep a straight face for all of three seconds before he started to laugh. The expression on Hope's face was too priceless and the former archangel was far too pleased with himself for his joke to stop laughing as well.

"Oh you..." Hope narrowed her eyes at Michael even as she grabbed the nearest pillow and struck Michael square in the chest with it.

There was a moment of complete silence between them, the still rolling movie forgotten.

"Did you just beat me with a pillow?" Michael finally asked with a deep frown. Though, it was quite obvious that exactly that just happened. It wasn't the first time Hope did something spontaneous and unexpected, but somehow this particular gesture felt different. It wasn't so much about what Hope did as it was about Michael's sudden urge to return the favor of doing something spontaneous and unexpected. That definitely was new.

"No?" Hope replied with a nice smile that was replaced by a surprised squeal when Michael grabbed a different pillow and hit her shoulder with it. Granted, Hope deserved it for starting the pillow fight, but it hadn't been a fight until Michael retaliated and now that he had the young woman could hardly let him win as easily as that.

The duo were quite lucky that neither Hope's aunt nor her uncle were around that evening. They definitely would have been disturbed by the commotion Hope and Michael caused in their living room.

Michael definitely enjoyed their little play fight, but the ultimate goal in any fight was to win. The former archangel's moment came when Hope raised the pillow over her head, ready to strike again just as Michael grabbed both her wrists and held them together behind her back.

The former archangel wanted to point out that the fight was over and he won, but was distracted by the sudden realization of how close they were to each other. It did not help that Hope's lips were moving as she tried to figure out what to say. Michael found himself quite captivated by the motion for a moment until he realized he was staring and abruptly released Hope's wrists. Apparently neither one of them saw a reason to move apart though.

"Would it be... acceptable, if I wanted to...?" Michael finally whispered after he barely found his voice enough to do even that. The former archangel waited until Hope nodded to reach out and thread his hand into her hair. The thought that he might want this had not occurred to Michael before, but the moment their lips touched it was like something fell into place.

"You didn't have to ask," Hope breathed once they parted. The young woman was not sure where the words even came from, but apparently it was the wrong thing to say, if Michael's expression was anything to go by.

"Yes, I did," the former archangel replied slightly husky from the kiss. It did not sound like Michael was upset or offended, but he was definitely sure about what he said.

It took a moment before Hope understood why her stomach dropped in a not entirely pleasant way. Michael was treating her like something precious, like he had to be careful with her. It definitely wasn't what Hope was used to. It was something they had to talk about. "Michael, look, I know that I'm some kind of... really good person in your book, but... if there's one thing I'm really not, it's a blushing virgin."

"I know," Michael replied with a small smile. If he was completely honest, Michael more assumed than knew that he was by no means the first man interested in Hope and that she had not turned everyone away before him. It did not matter to him either way. "Have you considered the possibility that I'm simply treating you the way I feel is right?"

"That's... okay then." This time the way her stomach tightened was definitely pleasant.

 

* * *

 

"I did not order this!" Raphael pointed out harshly as he frowned at the big chocolate cookie the waiter put on the table next to the coffee the former archangel had in fact ordered. There was no cookie for Crowley, so it was not customary to receive one.

"It's on the house," Toby -as the name tag revealed- replied with a shy smile, "To make your day a little sweeter."

The former archangel stared at the young man like he had grown a second head for a few moments before he turned his attention toward Crowley instead. The human was nobody Raphael had to concern himself with. "Why did you bring me here?"

The king of hell watched as Toby went back to the counter, his tail firmly between his legs. Actually, Crowley did not understand why the human thought Raphael of all people would be susceptible to his obvious attempt at flirting. The former archangel looked bitchy and unapproachable on her good days and this was not a good day to begin with. In fact, this was not the first time Crowley noticed some random stranger behaving much nicer around Raphael than could be expected from most humans. If the former archangel had something about herself that brought out this kind of behavior in people, Crowley had not seen any of it yet.

"I thought you'd appreciate getting some fresh air for a change," Crowley replied noncommittally, "Take it as a sign of goodwill. You're not my prisoner, darlin'."

"Not as long as I don't want to leave you mean," Raphael shot back as she picked up the cookie and eyed it critically. Why did the human give him something for free? There had to be a reason for the gesture. However, Raphael had more important matters to concern himself with.

"Look at it like a celebration, I have good news to share with you," Crowley announced with a winning smile. The king of hell might just have found something that would convince Raphael that working with him was the only way to get back into heaven once and for all.

 

* * *

 

 

"Actually, we were about to go back to Plucky's. Play good cop, bad cop, stir things up a little and see who gets nervous," Dean told Bobby over the phone. Sam and Gabriel had already been there in their FBI disguise so they could question the employees while Dean observed what they did after they got away from the interrogation. Apparently, Bobby had something to tell them before they went to set that plan into motion.

"Yeah, sure," the older Winchester said before he put his phone on speaker to let the other two listen in to Bobby along with him.

"I might've found a summoning ritual for Crowley," the old hunter announced. His tone made perfectly clear that the news were not quite as good as they sounded at first though.

"Might have?" Sam asked with a frown. Either it was a summoning ritual or it wasn't. Then again, maybe it came from questionable sources and the old hunter simply was not sure if it would work.

"It's in ancient Aramaic," Bobby answered, his tone equally exasperated and fascinated. Of course the old hunter liked to put his ability to translate ancient texts to the test, but an easy and quick translation would have been preferable in this case. "It'll take a while to even translate it enough to even know for sure if it's any good."

"Send it over," Gabriel suddenly suggested, "I speak... I used to speak Aramaic fluently. I could take a look, see if I still can..."

The former archangel did not have access to all the knowledge he used to have -a fully human mind probably would have been completely overwhelmed with the entirety of human history and then some- but Gabriel could unlock a lot of it if he concentrated hard enough. It seemed not too unlikely that he could read the text, at least enough to know if it was worthy of a detailed translation.

"Awesome, you two work on that," Dean stated, nodding to himself, "We'll go and make a couple people nervous."


	26. Chapter 26

**25**

 

"But it's so cute!" Gracie proclaimed vigorously, holding the offending piece of clothing under Lucifer's nose like she believed that he simply had to take a better look to change his mind.

"You just summed up everything wrong with it," Lucifer retorted as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. He refused to even touch the thing! Lucifer had lived through a lot of indignities lately, but he had to draw the line somewhere! Even if the former archangel had no intention to uphold his former devilish image, he still had his pride.

Gracie looked at Lucifer with her big doe eyes before she stuck her lower lip out in the kind of adorable pout that had gotten the former archangel to agree to a lot of things he had said no to at first. After all, Lucifer had changed his mind about reading her a bedtime story and he had checked for monsters under her bed and in her closet when she woke up from a nightmare.

"Pouting won't help you in this, Grace," Lucifer stated much to the girl's chagrin, "I will not wear a unicorn shirt!"

The former archangel was only happy that Nadine left them alone in the clothes department while she took care of the groceries. Lucifer really did not need to hear the woman's opinion on the cutesy shirts her daughter kept trying to sell to him on top of everything else!

"'S not fair!" Gracie's pout intensified as she threw her arms in the air in exasperation, "You said no to the angel shirt too!"

Lucifer rolled his eyes at his little abomination's antics. The former archangel wasn't sure if he disdained the shirt saying _99% angel_ more or less than the purple shirt with the unicorn. However, he knew for sure that he was not going to buy or wear either one of them. "Has it occurred to you that I'm simply not the type for cutesy clothes?"

"Don't diss it before you try it!" Gracie argued, waving her hand in front of Lucifer's face in imitation of the teenager she had learned the phrase from in the first place.

It was just Lucifer's luck that another one of the locusts known as shop assistants decided this was the perfect moment to get involved. The former archangel was nearly convinced at that point that an army of shop assistants would come over Egypt as their punishment, if another one of their leaders decided to get on his father's bad side. "Can I be of assistance, Sir?"

"As I already told your colleague," Lucifer replied with a smile that was in stark contrast to his rude tone, "Go away!"

"He's grumpy, 'cause he really wants to buy the cute stuff, but can't admit it," Gracie explained to the befuddled woman, patting her arm for good measure. People who did not know Lucifer the way Gracie did might take his rude behavior too heart after all. The little girl already knew that he didn't mean it.

"That is not..!" Lucifer started to protest, but was promptly interrupted.

"Is too!" Gracie insisted, "'Cause you think the shirts are cute too, but you won't wear 'em and they're for adults, so you can't buy 'em for me!"

The little girl was reasonably sure that Lucifer would in fact like all the shirts she had shown him -including the one with the fluffy puppies- if Gracie wore them. It was one of those strange adult things where they thought there was an age limit for cute things really. Apparently even angels were stuck up on that stupid notion.

"I can't even begin to argue..." Lucifer groaned. He had to admit that the little abomination had a point though.

"Mandy could wear it!" Gracie suddenly stated, a grin spreading over her face.

"Mandy?" Lucifer frowned deeply. The former archangel thought he had heard of all of Grace's friends, but he could not recall the name Mandy making an appearance before. Mandy had to be an adult as well to be brought up in the discussion they were having, at least if Grace was still trying for consistency and logic with her argument.

"You said not to call him Sam," Gracie shrugged lightly. Samandriel was a nice name and definitely fitting for an angel, but it was too long to say in its entirety every single time. Actually, Gracie first planned to call their guardian angel Andy, but then it occurred to her that Lucy would definitely approve of the similarly circumstanced nickname more.

The moment the former archangel realized who Grace was talking about, a smirk spread over his face. The little abomination was on to something there. Lucifer snapped his fingers as he demanded, "Samandriel, heel!"

"You realize that I am not required to do your bidding," the angel stated, giving his older brother a pointed look. Samandriel realized he was undermining his own statement by following Lucifer's command, but he felt the need to point out that he was doing so out of his own free will and not because of any obligation.

"But you appeared anyway," Lucifer shrugged, before he pointed at Grace and physically shoved his little brother toward the girl, "She's going to give you a makeover."

Samandriel was really only embarrassing himself with his clothes at this point and even the cutesy and colorful things Grace favored would be a step up from the Wiener Hut uniform. In the very least sending the two off to find new clothes for Samandriel should give Lucifer a little time to find the simple, comfortable clothes he wanted for himself.

 

* * *

 

 

"It's for you," Hope frowned deeply as she held out the phone receiver for Michael to take. The young woman had a thousand questions about the phone call, but giving the former archangel some privacy was the only polite thing to do. Michael would tell her what this was all about later. There were no more secrets between them after all. Hope gave Michael a small smile as she left the room.

"Michael, is this really..?" Raphael asked in an uncharacteristically uncertain tone, before he remembered himself and added in a stronger tone, "It's Raphael."

"Raphael?" Michael's eyes widened nearly comically, unfortunately with nobody around to appreciate it, "How did you find me? Where are you?"

"It doesn't matter," Raphael replied harshly. Crowley had given him clear rules. The moment Raphael gave away their location or anything about Crowley's plans the phone call would end. The former archangel scoffed at the demon's rules more as a matter of principle than anything else. Raphael and Michael had enough to discuss without going anywhere near the topic of the king of hell. That would become important once Raphael had his powers back and could show Crowley exactly how much he appreciated the demon's so called hospitality. Until then it had to wait.

"Of course it does," Michael persisted. The former archangel would bet good money that his younger brother was human as well, so Raphael's whereabouts were very important. Michael wanted to make sure that his brother was taken care of as well as Michael himself was.

"Not right now," Raphael stated, to make sure they would finally talk about the real issue at hand, "We have to find a solution for this... this mess! We have to get back into heaven!"

"Do we?" Michael sighed deeply, "Raphael, I... It took some time to understand, but I think... I think we are in this position for a reason."

"The only reason for this is that Gabriel decided to mess up the plan!" Raphael exclaimed angrily.

Michael swallowed heavily. Apparently, Raphael had information that Michael lacked. It made sense that Gabriel was behind all this and the oldest of the archangels had suspecions that his youngest brother might be behind it before, but hearing his suspicions confirmed still hit him hard. In the end, it didn't matter though. "Gabriel wouldn't have been able to do anything like this, if our father hadn't condoned it."

"Our father had nothing to do with this! He is dead! You're just too blind to see it!" Raphael yelled. The acceptance in Michael's voice was more than Raphael could bear. They had to get back into heaven and restore the order of things right away. Raphael firmly believed God was long dead, but that only meant that heaven needed them all the more! They were meant to lead, not to be just one of a million. They were not meant to be ordinary angels and most of all they were not meant to be human!

"It doesn't matter. At this point, it just doesn't matter. Maybe you are right, but that doesn't change the fact that I have learned more in these couple weeks than I have in millennia before," Michael replied seriously, before he softened his tone and added, "Raphael, I want to help you. Tell me how to find you and we can..."

Raphael hung up before Michael could finish.

 

* * *

 

 

It turned out something sinister was going on at Plucky's basement. It would have been creepy enough that one of their employees was obviously hoarding children's drawings, but the fact that he was working black magic with them and sent the kids' worst fears to kill their own parents added a whole other layer of fucked up.

"No drawing... no Iron Giant," Dean stated smugly as he tore up the drawing of the killer robot. At least they managed to save the intended victim of the evening and as soon as the oldest Winchester got the upper hand on Howard -just a matter of time really- nobody else would die here.

"Doesn't matter, she's still on the list... but not tonight..." Howard replied, shaking his head as if to clear his mind. Not that Dean needed any more signs that the guy had definitely a few screws loose. "Not tonight."

"So what, are you gonna do things the normal way for once and shoot me instead of using your black magic tricks, Howard?" the oldest Winchester only had to keep the man busy until he could disarm him. It didn't look like Howard had the mental capacities to focus on more than one thing at a time, so Dean just had to keep him engaged in conversation long enough to set the plan he was going to come up with any second now into motion.

"Who said anything about 'instead'?" Howard asked, a dangerous glint in his eyes, "That FBI guy. He's your pal, right? I saw you chase Cliff down. Five minutes ago, his business card was torched. Along with something from my... personal collection."

Dean's blood ran a little cold hearing that. Something was coming for his younger brother while Sam was out there looking for a killer robot. Dean was confident enough that Sam could deal with almost anything Howard could dish out though. They were big, bad hunters after all!

"He was so obvious about it too," Howard laughed manically for a moment before he added, "The way he looked at the decorations..."

On the negative side, the maniac found one of the things Sammy probably could not deal with, but on the plus side, Howard's gloating gave Dean the chance to press a couple buttons on his cell phone.

 

* * *

 

 

As it turned out, Gabriel's understanding of the Aramaic language was still good enough for basic comprehension and then some. The former archangel had let Bobby know that the ritual looked legit and that given time he could provide the detailed translation, before he sat down to work on it. Unfortunately, Gabriel had to admit he had slight troubles focusing on a task for hours on end without getting side tracked, so things weren't coming along as quickly as they might have.

Maybe he would do better once the Winchester returned, the former archangel mused. His partner's presence always made it easier for Gabriel to focus. Not that it made too much of a difference if the translation got done now or the day after. They didn't only need a way to summon Crowley, they also needed a plan for how to get him to release Raphael once they had him.

Gabriel was brought out of his musings when his cell phone announced the arrival of a text message. At first the former archangel was surprised to see that Dean sent it, until he saw what the hunter had written. 'Sam's in trouble!'

Gabriel jumped up from his seat and was halfway to the door before realizing he didn't even know where Sam was. The younger Winchester most likely was not with his brother, which meant they split up. They meant to go to Plucky's, so one of them was probably still there, but there was no way to tell which one.

The former archangel forced himself to breathe deeply and calm down. He had to think! There had to be a solution for this. At least, he knew for certain that it wasn't too late yet. Gabriel could feel Sam's presence clear as day over...

"C'mon, c'mon," Gabriel whispered as he closed his fist around the amulet he had not taken off since the day he gave the second one to Sam. The thing did not only establish a connection between them that let the former archangel know that his partner was alive -and what he thought and felt, provided Sam wanted to share- it also worked as a sort of GPS. At least it had when Gabriel was still in archangel. "I made you for this, dammit!"

It took a few agonizingly long moments until Gabriel suddenly felt a blip on his radar so to say. The former archangel let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and grabbed the machete Dean gifted to him once it became obvious that while Gabriel was useless with a gun, he was very good with knives, swords and the like.

"No, Sam, my way!" the former archangel swore under his breath as he sprinted out of the motel room. Gabriel was confident that he could find Sam, but the direction the younger Winchester was running toward was putting more distance between them. The former archangel had no illusions that he could catch up with Sam as long as he kept going full speed, but maybe he could send him directions. "Run toward me!"

The rational part of the younger Winchester's mind was screaming at him to stop being ridiculous. With all the things he had faced and fought before, two clowns should not be what got him to panic. Unfortunately, the rational part of Sam's mind was completely overshadowed by the part that froze in fear the moment the clowns appeared. All he could do was run as fast as possible.

The younger Winchester could not say what made him change direction all of a sudden, but somehow he suddenly felt a little safer. The feeling only lasted until one of the clowns appeared in front of Sam and stopped his mad dash with it.

If the younger Winchester thought he was scared before, he lacked the word to properly describe how he felt the moment one of the clowns secured Sam's arms behind his back and held him in place while the other one grinned at him.

A part of the younger Winchester realized that he would usually be able to break free, or at least fight under similar circumstances, but the fear was doing a great job paralyzing him, even before the clown in front of him started to punch his stomach and face.

Sam closed his eyes instinctively when the clown got ready to punch him in the face again, but the punch never came. The younger Winchester made a confused and embarrassing noise as he opened his eyes again and was met with the sight of a dispersing cloud of glitter. Behind it was Gabriel with a machete in his hands.

"Hey, asshat! Try picking on someone who's not afraid of you!" Gabriel announced with so much confidence that the ever present smirk on the clown's face disappeared completely. The former archangel nodded toward Sam just a moment before the younger Winchester ducked, his arms brought up to protect his head, to give Gabriel the opening he needed to behead the clown. Just like the first one, the being disappeared in a cloud of glitter. "I eat clowns for breakfast!"

The former archangel was not sure if the clowns would be gone forever, or if they would reappear eventually, but it didn't matter that moment. If they were stupid enough to reassemble themselves and come at them again, Gabriel would gladly teach them another lesson about not messing with him! What really mattered was making sure that Sam was okay.

"Did you just..?" the younger Winchester asked with wide eyes, but this time it was definitely not from fear.

"It felt like a one-liner was needed," Gabriel shrugged casually, before he reached out to stroke Sam's cheek gently, "Are you okay?"

"I've never felt... more fabulous," Sam deadpanned as he shook his head and sent the glitter from his hair flying everywhere.

Gabriel couldn't stop laughing even as Sam wrapped his arms around him and held on to the man he loved for dear life.


	27. Chapter 27

**26**

 

When Dean met up with Sam and Gabriel, the oldest Winchester had been laughing too hard to tell them that Howard was dealt with -using his own black magic against him no less- for a solid five minutes. Howard's drowning death on dry land would give the authorities something more to scratch their heads about, but that was hardly the Winchesters' problem. Dean's younger brother and the former archangel looked like they came straight from the gay pride parade of the century, or were on their way there. It was either that or a couple of Twilight vampires exploding all over them. Dean didn't even know how close his second guess came to the truth.

"To a job well done!" Dean raised his beer toward Sam and Gabriel in a toast. The oldest Winchester had given the pair half an hour to take a long shower and clog the motel pipes with glitter, but it looked like not even that was enough to get rid of all the stuff. Sam's hair still sparkled in places when the light hit it just right and Gabriel was failing at trying to get the stuff out from under his fingernails.

"While we're already celebrating," Sam suddenly announced before he bowed down to get something from under his chair where he had stored it earlier. The youngest Winchester had seen a couple of kids with the prizes they won at Plucky's earlier that day and one of those prizes was something Dean would undoubtedly love.

The oldest Winchester's eyes widened comically as he looked at the giant slinky Sam was holding. Dean snatched the toy out of his younger brother's hands before Sam could possibly change his mind about giving it to him. "No way! Did you win that?"

"We earned it," Sam stated seriously, as a dimpled smile appeared on his face at Dean's reaction. There was one more thing the younger Winchester swiped while he was already at it, this time for his partner. "Oh and..."

Gabriel laughed as he took the package of crayons -24 colors- from Sam. "How did you know? That's exactly what I need right now!"

The former archangel leaned in to plant a quick kiss on Sam's lips before he went to find a notepad. There was something Gabriel wanted to do before they left town. A package of crayons and a sheet of paper were all he needed to go through with it.

"Hey Dean, uh... while we have a moment..." Sam said in a hushed tone after a side glance toward his partner revealed that the former archangel was sitting on their bed cross-legged as he drew, "So... Gabriel and I... we're getting married, for real. We haven't set a date yet, but... it's going to happen."

The younger Winchester doubted Gabriel would mind if he made that announcement by himself, at least to his brother. After all the former archangel had been worried about Dean's reaction, even if he tried to mask it with humor. Sam did not need to tap into their shared bond to see right through that kind of behavior.

"Dude, please, it was always going to happen," Dean retorted with a snort, "Tell me something I don't know."

Granted, the oldest Winchester assumed the wedding topic was dealt with since his younger brother and the archangel were already married on paper, but it wasn't a huge surprise that they wanted to have a ceremony after all. In fact, Dean could get behind that on some level. Weddings meant good food, enough to drink and a bunch of unmarried women. Granted, in their case the last point would most likely be lacking, but the first two still applied. Besides, it would be a good reason for Castiel to spend time with them again.

"Gabe wants a wedding cake, no pie," Sam deadpanned.

The younger Winchester nearly jumped in surprise when Dean hit the table with his fist and rose from his seat, stalking toward Gabriel. "You son of a bitch!"

Sam wanted to intervene immediately until he realized that his older brother simply put Gabriel into a chokehold, not squeezing too tightly. The former archangel was struggling, but the overall picture they made was clearly that of a play fight rather than anything serious. The younger Winchester still vowed he was going to pry Dean off his fiancé... the moment he managed to stop laughing.

 

* * *

 

 

"I just don't know what to do," Michael admitted with a deep sigh. The former archangel wrapped his arm around Hope to keep her close to his side. It was a necessary reminder that he had made the right decision, was on the right path. Being with Hope had opened Michael's eyes to a lot of things and he didn't intend to just close them again and go back to how things had been before his fall no matter how much Raphael might wish for it.

"What would you have done before..?" Hope asked, letting her voice trail off.

"What would I have done in heaven?" Michael huffed out a humorless chuckle. What would Michael, the archangel do now? That was the million dollar question. Actually, the former archangel knew exactly what he would have done. After all, he was convinced that it was their father's will -even if it was not his doing- that they were human now, so his archangel self would have never allowed Raphael to go against God's will. "I would have ordered Raphael to back down and do as I say."

Hope cleared her throat awkwardly as she asked, "Did that ever work?"

The young woman simply could not believe that it was that easy to get one's way in any family, even if the family in question consisted of angels. Hope herself did not react well to commands of that sort anyway.

"I... I thought it did, but Raphael went and did whatever he pleased behind my back quite frequently," Michael admitted. The former archangel mostly turned a blind eye, but that did not mean he never noticed that Raphael frequently made decisions Michael did not agree with, especially those concerning the Apocalypse and the designated vessels.

Hope did not have to say out loud that things were exactly as she expected then. Michael understood the look she gave him well enough. After all one of their first bonding experiences had been to sneak out of the house behind her uncle's back.

"Hope, what do I do? I think... I feel like Raphael is in trouble, but if I'm wrong..." Michael sighed deeply again and didn't finish. If he was wrong, Michael risked messing things up for Raphael even more than they possibly already were. The bad feeling the former archangel had concerning his younger brother could not be ignored or pushed aside though.

"Okay, no, that's good, just finish that thought," Hope encouraged Michael, meeting his eyes as she stroked his arm, "Let's just throw it all out there and then we can find the best solution."

"I'm in no position to go after Raphael myself, but I know of people who are," Michael explained without hesitation. While the former archangel was unsure about giving information about himself or Raphael to anyone basically, but there was no doubt he could tell Hope about everything. In fact, a heavy weight had been lifted off Michael's shoulders the moment he decided to stop keeping things from her and he did not intend to let it pile up again. The weight of the world was much easier to bare when shared. "But I don't know... if Raphael is not doing anything bad and just wants to be left alone, setting them on his trail would be wrong. Maybe Raphael doesn't want any help to begin with..."

"He called you, sounds like he both wants and needs help to me," Hope shrugged. She didn't know enough of Raphael to speculate about his motives really, but could there be any other reason why he called his brother? Of course, it could have been a purely social call, but then the call would have gone completely differently for sure and Michael wouldn’t be this distraught.

"Yes, _my_ help... to achieve something I don't want," Michael replied vigorously. He had no intentions of leaving the life he made for himself. There was still so much to learn, to understand, to discover and he had already proven that he could not do it in heaven. Michael had no intention to lose Hope now that he found her, period.

"Look, sometimes... sometimes what people want and what they need don't go together," Hope pointed out carefully, "So you can't give Raphael what he wants... now you just have to decide if you'll get him the help he needs."

Michael nodded slightly. What Hope said made sense, but there was still the problem that letting anyone know about their situation could turn sour in a millisecond. Who was there Michael could trust enough to let them know that he and Raphael were human and essentially defenseless? There were a few choices that seemed obvious, but a wrong step in this would be disastrous. Then again, if Raphael needed help and Michael did nothing, was that really any better than taking a risk?

"You'll have to bear the consequences either way. The question is, which of the consequences have the potential to be worse? " Hope added with a small smile, as she leaned in to kiss Michael's cheek softly. The young woman could nearly see the cogs in the former archangel's mind turning. She knew from experience that making a decision like this was anything other than easy, but it had to be made.

Even as a teenager Hope could have made it without her father for months. Laying low, behaving normally, forging a couple signatures and nobody would have noticed anything was different. The reason why Hope called her uncle for help was not that she needed his help, but that she was convinced her father needed the help. There were moments during her visit's at the mental institution her father lived in these days when he blamed her for setting the events that got him committed into motion and those were the consequences she had to deal with. It still was better than not calling anybody when her father was possibly dying in an alleyway and the call could have saved him.

"I'll take Raphael being mad at me over him doing something epically stupid any day," Michael decided after a couple of moments of consideration. Of course they first had to find the contact information for the person Michael planned to call, but now that the decision was made Michael was determined to see it through.

 

* * *

 

 

Crowley did not look up when Raphael entered the room. The former archangel had obviously been displeased with the way her talk with her brother had went and stormed out right after hanging up. Crowley gladly gave Raphael the time to turn everything over in her head until she came to the only possible conclusion that working with the king of hell was right thing to do. After all, she had no other options short of acceptance.

Crowley would have been just as happy to have Michael on board with them, but the demon had not gained his position by being a moron. The information his minions had been able to provide clearly pointed toward Michael being settled into his human life comfortably and even if he had not it was unlikely that the oldest of the archangels would ever agree to a plan that even Raphael viewed as monstrous.

"There is a ritual and a very specific time frame for what you want to achieve," Raphael told Crowley. The former archangel tried and failed to appear impassive. The truth was the talk with Michael had shaken Raphael to his core. Sure, Michael was a fool who still believed their father was alive and would come back eventually and they had more than just a few fights about how to handle matters before. Still, Raphael never believed that Michael would simply give up on their plans and their position. Michael was the leader of all angels for crying out loud, how could he calmly announce that them being humanized was anything other than an abominable travesty?

"I take it, the talk between siblings didn't go as you hoped," Crowley replied nonchalantly as he closed the file on his desk and finally looked up to meet Raphael's eyes. They both knew this wasn't news to the king of hell, but Crowley felt like making some polite inquiries before they talked business.

"Don't act like you didn't know this would happen!" Raphael spat, "I might be trapped in this... this slowly rotting hull of flesh, but don't take me for a fool!"

Being human had bothered Raphael right from the start. He hated how the needs of the body for such trivial things as food could override all logical thought, he hated how things became too strenuous and forced him to give up before anything was achieved and he hated how suddenly he was even below the most ordinary demons power-wise. Raphael hated being human, period. The only thing that made his condition bearable was knowing that it was only a matter of time until it was reversed. If Michael did not see reason, Raphael would have to do it without him. Reasoning could take place after Raphael gained back his celestial form once more.

"You were talking about a ritual," Crowley commented casually, completely ignoring the former archangel's little outbreak. The time Crowley spent with Raphael taught the king of hell that the woman had a very bad temper with a very short fuse, so it was hardly surprising for her to get overly agitated over the stupidest things. It was exactly that personality trait that made Raphael the perfect accomplice for Crowley's plan though, so he would have to bear with it.

"I will work with you, but I want the power to get back into heaven and reclaim my rightful position and I want a guarantee that you will let me have it," Raphael demanded harshly. The only upside about working with a demon was that their contracts were binding. Raphael knew he could get the better of the demon. Raphael was definitely the superior species, this human phase he was going through notwithstanding.

"Of course," Crowley agreed easily, before he approached Raphael and gave her a winning smile, "How about we seal..?"

The moment Raphael grabbed Crowley and unceremoniously, but quite aggressively kissed him was the moment the king of hell questioned if there wasn't something he had failed to take into consideration for the first time.

"We have until the lunar eclipse to get the blood of a virgin," Raphael announced before he stalked out of the room again. The former archangel gave Crowley a couple of moments to feel like this was altogether too easy before he turned back and added, "And the blood of a purgatory native."

 

* * *

 

 

Sam and Dean watched from the Impala as Gabriel approached the little girl who was drawing chalk pictures on the sidewalk once more. Both Winchesters knew this was important to the former archangel, so there had been no complaints against staying in town long enough for Gabriel to have a final talk with the first victim's daughter.

"Hey Kelly, remember me?" Gabriel asked the girl with a gentle smile before he handed the drawing he had made the previous evening to her, "I've got something for you."

Kelly's eyes widened as she looked at the picture of the dead vampire octopus, two tall men and one shorter man standing next to it with weapons in their hands. It took a few moments for the little girl to decipher the caption Gabriel gave the picture, but when she did Kelly wrapped her arms around Gabriel's middle and hugged the former archangel tight.

\- _Monsters check under their beds for team free will._

 


	28. Chapter 28

**27**

 

Lucifer would not allow anyone to think that he was a leech, just taking up space and resources without contributing anything worthwhile. At least the former archangel told himself that his reputation was the only reason why he went to buy milk and peanut butter without being asked to. His decision had absolutely nothing to do with helping Nadine! If anything, Lucifer didn't want Grace to be disappointed when she could not have a cup of warm cocoa before bed. Besides, the fallen archangel liked peanut butter and had nothing better to do than take a stroll to the closest store while Grace was still at school. Granted, Lucifer wanted to prove that he could be a decent person -better than he had been at least- but he would not allow anyone to think that he was up for acting selflessly from now on.

The former archangel's inner musings were rudely interrupted when he unlocked the front door and was met with the sight of a pouting Grace sitting on the stairs to the second floor and the raised voice of her mother coming from the general direction of the kitchen.

"... that I'm working too much and have too little time for Gracie, now I'm cutting back on working hours and you're still criticizing me!" Apparently, Nadine was in the middle of an argument with somebody else. At least, Lucifer didn't think the woman was just randomly yelling at nobody.

"Grandma came to visit," Gracie sighed deeply as she looked toward the door leading to the kitchen, "They told me to go outside."

"I assume they should have been more specific," Lucifer huffed out a humorless chuckle. Of course, Grace would only leave the room, but still stay close enough to hear what was going on with instructions like these! If Lucifer knew it, the little girl's mother and grandmother should have known it too.

"You can't just let a stranger..." Grace's grandmother could be heard through the door which made Lucifer grimace automatically. Of course they had to include him into their argument, of course.

"I can and I did," Nadine snapped. It was nearly too bad that Nadine could not tell her mother in law the whole story. Then the woman would at least have had a good reason to think her daughter in law was irresponsible for allowing Lucifer to live with them. As things were Jill was throwing a tantrum over Nadine's decision to put the spare bedroom up for rent, even though it allowed her to reduce her working hours enough to actually spend quality time with Gracie every single day.

"If my son was still alive he would..." Jill argued before she got rudely interrupted.

"Don't you dare drag Josh into this!" Nadine yelled before she could stop herself. If Joshua was still alive they would not be having this discussion, but Lucifer would probably still live in their spare bedroom. Gracie was right when she said her father would have been happy to share his possessions and help the fallen archangel.

Lucifer knew enough about shouting matches to know that this was neither going to stop anytime soon, nor get any more silent and he was quite done with seeing Gracie's apprehensive expression.

"Oh don't stop on my account, but you realize that Grace can hear every word you two are saying?" the former archangel asked with a cold smile as he entered the kitchen. Nadine at least had the good grace to look a little horrified because of this revelation. Grace's grandmother only looked like she was about to continue arguing. Not that Lucifer needed more reasons to dislike the woman at this point.

"This is none of your business," Jill immediately snapped, glaring at the former archangel.

"Since I assume I'm the 'stranger' you were talking about, I'd say it is my business," Lucifer pointed out coolly as he put the peanut butter into the cupboard and went to open the fridge, "Of course, I don't give a damn about your opinion; so I really don't need to hear it. I'll just put the milk in the fridge and leave. Then you can talk smack about me behind my back undisturbed."

Nadine didn't know how to deal with her mother in law and the former devil getting into an argument in her kitchen, so she settled for being surprised about Lucifer's sudden decision to go grocery shopping instead. After a long moment of silence, Nadine also felt a little respect for the fallen archangel's ability to cause Jill to impersonate a fish caught on dry land.

"By the way, Grace tells me a lot about her father. He must have been an exceptional human being, very wise and kind," Lucifer stated with one hand on the doorknob already, "I see where she gets it from, but I don't see where he got it from."

The stunned silence lasted even after the fallen archangel left the kitchen and closed the door behind him. Lucifer grinned to himself. He didn't think he had stepped out of line. At least not too much. Samandriel had not intervened and if Lucifer was not mistaken Nadine even looked a little grateful there.

"We don't need to hear this, let's go play checkers," Lucifer held his hand out for Grace to take before either one of the women could start yelling again. The little girl had heard enough of that for the day and so had Lucifer. There were nicer things to do.

 

* * *

 

 

"What do you think about this one?" Chuck asked, pointing to a silver bracelet that caught his eye. The prophet generally enjoyed shopping at the much smaller and less crowded mall. It was closer to their home to boot, but in this case the more limited selection that came with smaller shops made things hard. Then again, the real problem was not so much that they didn't have what the prophet wanted to buy than that Chuck had no clear idea of what he wanted to get.

"I wouldn't wear it," Adam replied with a casual shrug.

"Adam," Chuck groaned, throwing his arms in the air for good measure. He really could use someone else's opinion here and the youngest Winchester was determined not to give it to him!

"Look Chuck, I'm always happy to help, but... she's your girlfriend, I have no idea what she'd like," Adam explained. It didn't help that Adam's opinion of Becky was not the best to put it mildly. She had not done anything out of line since she teamed up with who she thought was a friendly warlock to get Sam to marry her, but that was bad enough to hold a grudge for a while. At least it was for Adam. Even if all that never happened, the youngest Winchester never paid attention to Becky's style, so he wouldn't have any idea what sort of jewelry would suit her anyway, assuming she even was the type for jewelry."Actually, why don't you just write her into a chapter of one of the books or something like that?"

The Supernatural books were not exactly the same as the Winchester gospel -as much as that title made Adam cringe- anyway. Chuck and his editor made changes to the books now and then to make them more suitable for their focus group. Of course, adding more chapters with a random new character like Becky might be something the editor would protest against.

"That sort of thing is a touchy subject since..." Chuck replied, clearing his throat awkwardly. The prophet would not say that Becky's obsession with the books had lessened exactly, but she was treating them more like a work of fiction lately. At least she tried to as much as she could while knowing that the whole thing was based on reality. In all honesty, Chuck didn't know how he would react if Becky showed any signs of obsession with the real people behind the characters, specifically Sam, again. The prophet really loved his girlfriend, but he would probably not be able to deal with that.

"This one?" Chuck asked a moment later to change the topic and get back to the problem at hand. The prophet probably should have taken a moment to look at the display before pointing at something randomly as he realized a second later.

"Yeah, sure, that's perfect," Adam replied lamely. The youngest Winchester's attention was focused not on the bracelet, but on his second roommate and best friend though. Tarot decided to check out the clock display rather than look at jewelry when they first entered the store and since they were the only customers that moment everything seemed fine and dandy. Apparently, the sandy-haired seraph had caught the shopkeeper's attention though.

"Now you're not even trying! It's skulls. Skulls!" Chuck pointed out exasperatedly, before he realized that he had completely lost the other man's attention moments ago.

Adam quickly crossed the room to stand next to his friend. The seraph had a hard time dealing with strangers' attention even on a good day and while he was having a good day, Tarot was clearly getting a little agitated if the twitching was anything to go by. "Hey, everything alright here?"

"I just... just wanted to... to buy that c-clock," Tarot explained, breathing deeply when Adam put a hand on his shoulder. It seemed like the seraph could not find the right words -or enough words- to explain to the shopkeeper what he wanted, but with Adam there they could clear this up together.

"Nice," Adam commented with a friendly smile, "Cool looking clock you found there."

Not that Adam would have wanted the Mickey Mouse clock in his own room or something, but it would look nice in a kid's room. It probably would look cool in Tarot's room as well since the angel had quite the collection of all sorts of different clocks and watches already.

"I tried to explain that this one is broken, but I have a working model on stock," the old shopkeeper stated with a helpless shrug. He tried to make the nervous young man understand that he had the exact same model, only in working condition on stock and just wanted to go to the backroom to throw the broken one away while he got the other one. It looked like every word he said only made his customer more nervous though. At least there was someone he could talk to normally now.

"Don't... don't throw it away... p-please," Tarot suddenly spoke up, fumbling around until he got his hands on the wallet Adam told him to carry around with him, "I... I have... m-money."

Under different circumstances Adam could have laughed at that. To his knowledge, Tarot had never used money before. The angel only had a wallet with him when they went out, because Adam told him it was what people generally did and you never knew when you could use -or need- some money. As things were Tarot was getting really nervous though, which effectively killed all humor the situation might have held.

"You want to buy the broken one?" the shopkeeper asked with a deep frown and a raised brow.

Adam knew that objectively the elderly man did nothing to deserve it, but the youngest Winchester wanted to give him a piece of his mind simply because his words made Tarot flinch. Adam knew that someday his friend would be able to just explain himself and say what he wanted with confidence, but today was not that day.

"He repairs clocks as a hobby," Adam stated, keeping his tone light before he pulled back the sleeve of his left arm to show the watch he wore and added proudly, "He's really good too. This used to be two broken watches."

Tarot nodded jerkily, but managed to smile. Sometimes the clocks he got his hands on were too damaged to be repaired, but they all had parts that could still be useful. Nothing was ever so broken it was completely useless. Tarot once voiced that thought in front of Adam. His friend's crooked smile let the seraph know that Adam understood he wasn't only talking about clocks.

"Impressive," the shopkeeper stated honestly awed, before he took a look at the clock he was holding and held it out for the young man to take. The elderly man frowned deeply for a moment when the sandy-haired man did not reach out and instead started to fumble with his wallet. "Oh no, take it as a present. I couldn't sell it anyway."

"Thank... thank you. Thank you," Tarot stammered as he reached out to take the present. The seraph didn't even have to force himself to look up and meet the shopkeeper's eyes with a smile.

 

* * *

 

 

Apparently, the summoning spell Bobby found was sort of similar to the summoning spell for a trickster. At least they both needed the blood of one of the being's victims to work. The old hunter was trying to track down the one man they knew of who sold his soul to Crowley personally, but it would probably take some time.

Luckily the Winchesters and Gabriel stumbled over their next case mere days after the glitter massacre and just before the former archangel could get too antsy thinking about his brothers from waiting.

"I never understood why the truth has such a good reputation," Gabriel quipped as he leaned against the Impala. According to victim number one's sister, the waitress killed herself after said sister could not for the life of her stop from blurting out really uncomfortable truths. Then there was the dentist who killed his patient after the man admitted to having an affair with the good doctor's daughter. The truth might liberate some, but it sure killed others!

"You know I didn't mean it like that," Gabriel added a little defensively after he caught Sam's disapproving look. Of course, lying to Sam was a no go! Gabriel knew better than to try that again. In their case the truth and nothing but the truth was the way to go, as history had proven.

"So, someone or something is forcing people to blurt out the truth until they kill themselves, or somebody gets killed anyway," Sam summed up what they knew this far. At least it seemed like they had a solid starting point for necessary research. A being or curse that could force people to tell the truth against their will was by far more specific than monsters under beds.

"Could be a cursed object, or a witch," Dean shrugged as he unlocked his baby, "Hell, it could be creative demonic possessions."

Granted, a demon hopping from one meat-suit to the next just to play mind-games with the victims until they killed themselves or somebody else seemed like a stretch, but it was something to keep in mind in case the other theories didn't pan out.

"Do we have two or three victims though?" Sam asked with a frown, "I mean the waitress is obvious, but what about the dentist and the guy he killed?"

They had to learn about the victims to find out who put a spell on them or how the cursed object could have passed from one person to the next, but for that they had to be sure who the victims were. It seemed the most likely option that the people who heard all those truths were the intended victims, but one man had been killed for saying the truth as well.

"The guy who got drilled to death was probably just at the wrong place at the wrong time," Dean shrugged, before a wistful expression crossed his face and he added, "I wish that was as sexy as it sounds."

Of course, the 'to death' part was a bummer no matter how you looked at it...

"Wha..?" Sam frowned deeply, before he gave his older brother a completely unamused look, "Porn and reality, Dean."

"Hey, I'm not the one who's waking up the neighbors every other night!" Dean shot back before he even fully realized what he had said. The moment the words sunk in the oldest Winchester shuddered while his younger brother's face turned three shades redder than usual. It was a topic neither one of them wanted to discuss or even think about too much really. "Let's just get moving."

"Yeah, let's..." Sam agreed all too readily, before he turned around to see if his fiancé was ready to go back to the motel too. By the looks of it the former archangel had been distracted by something and hadn't even heard what they were talking about which was both a blessing and very strange. "Gabe?"

"Hey shortstop!" Dean exclaimed, hitting the Impala's roof just hard enough to make a sharp noise and catch the former archangel's attention.

"I... I just thought I saw somebody I know... but I can't put my finger on it," Gabriel shook his head to clear his thoughts. The former archangel could not even say what exactly caught his attention. It had been a 'blink and you will miss it' kind of thing and he had blinked through half of it. Chances were it was nothing... yeah right.

"Now that sounds really promising," Dean groaned. After all, Gabriel didn't know many people who were anything other than bad news.


	29. Chapter 29

**28**

 

"Chicken salad, dressing at the side," Dean announced, distaste written all over his face as he put his brother's dinner in front of the giant rabbit-man. The oldest Winchester decided to go on a food run himself this time, because his burgers tended to get cold while Sam and Gabriel had a make out session in the car instead of delivering the food as they were meant to. At least, Dean suspected that was the reason why his meals tended to be suspiciously lukewarm every time the happy couple went to get takeout. Baby would never be the same already, no need to traumatize her further!

"So, apparently there's a lot of beings and things that could force people to tell the truth," Sam stated as he inspected his meal, "At least we're pretty sure it's not the horn of Gabriel."

The horn of truth, also called the horn of Gabriel, could have been used to force people to be brutally honest against their will, but Gabriel's word that the horn was not to blame was good enough for the younger Winchester to instantly scrap that theory.

"Pretty sure, I mean I can't quite remember where I left the thing, but..." Gabriel quipped, bumping his shoulder against Sam's playfully. The former archangel was sure that Castiel or Balthazar would have let him know if his horn had gone missing from the armory. Besides, the thing had the slight side effect of attracting angels to its sound. They would have definitely known by now if the horn had anything to do with their case.

"You're so lucky you're pretty," Sam laughed, even as he shook his head exasperatedly, "And that I love you."

"Don't I know it?" Gabriel replied as he leaned it to touch his lips to Sam's.

Dean cleared his throat noisily. The oldest Winchester was trying not to overreact every time Sam and Gabriel added another entry to their PDA offenders record, but given how frequently those two were disgustingly sweet around each other it was difficult at times.

"Bacon cheeseburger and chili cheese fries," Dean announced and handed Gabriel his meal, before he added sincerely, "Man after my own heart."

Both Gabriel and Sam blinked a couple times after Dean's random little show of -dare they think- fondness. In the end it was the former archangel who asked, "What did you just say, Dean-o?"

"What? I mean it's true. If we'd never met you as the trickster, we could have been buddies. Hell, if I didn't insist on pretending like I was still holding a grudge, we could be best buddies now. Except for the fact that you are banging my little brother. That'll never be anything other than weird. You're so lucky you've made him happier than I've seen him since... ever basically, otherwise I might've shot you just as a matter of principle long ago. Then again maybe not, I mean I still got that homerun ball in my duffle bag and..." Dean rambled though it looked like he really didn't want to speak on after the first couple of words.

Nothing the oldest Winchester had said was a lie. He often secretly thought that Gabriel made a good addition to their little family. Sam clearly was happier and much more optimistic -though it sometimes grated on Dean's nerves- since the former archangel joined them and especially since the two hooked up. Dean also never got rid of the homerun ball his twelve year old self caught at the game Gabriel took them to. In fact -if he was completely honest- Dean would have to say that he kept it as a memento of one of the best and most carefree days in recent memory -if not in his life- and it was Gabriel who made that happen. Of course, the oldest Winchester would not say any of those things out loud... usually.

Sam grabbed his older brother's shoulders and dragged him out of the room as quickly as he could after that little display of honesty.

"What the hell was that?" Dean exclaimed as soon as the motel room door shut behind them. The oldest Winchester wouldn't be caught dead saying any of those things to Gabriel usually no matter how true they were. All of this could only mean one thing really. Apparently, Sam came to the same conclusion.

"I guess we know who's got the curse now," the younger Winchester shrugged helplessly.

"Son of a bitch!"

 

* * *

 

Lucifer didn't go back downstairs until he was sure Grace's grandmother had left. The woman was annoying and exactly the kind of person Lucifer didn't need to surround himself with. He still maintained that most of humanity was rotten beyond salvation anyway, but without a tangible reminder of the fact he nearly could forget about it now and then.

"Where's Gracie?" Nadine asked as Lucifer entered the kitchen going straight for the bread and his newly purchased peanut butter.

"Picking out Samandriel's wardrobe for tomorrow," Lucifer replied not bothering to turn around, "I have to say the 99% angel shirt is humorous when he wears it."

The former archangel had gone through the tedious process of walking to the grocery store, locating the peanut butter and milk. He then glared at the cashier to discourage her from striking up any sort of conversation and paid for his purchase so he could indulge in his guilty pleasure the next time the stupid feeling known as hunger made itself known. He would not be kept from having a sandwich -and possibly preparing a second for Grace- by the possibility that Nadine might want to discuss what happened earlier.

"Did Gracie seem okay to you?" Nadine sighed, rubbing her temples to fend off the oncoming headache. Strangely enough, it didn't even feel too surreal anymore to ask Lucifer how Gracie was dealing after hearing her mother and grandmother argue loudly. The former archangel clearly cared about her daughter more than just about anyone else, as he had proven recently too.

"She's a tough little abomination," Lucifer shrugged as he liberally spread peanut butter over two slices of bread. The former archangel huffed out a breath before he added, "I don't particularly like your mother in law."

"Pretty sure she wasn't impressed with you either," Nadine retorted, "And you didn't even call my daughter an abomination in her presence."

Nadine understood that somehow _little abomination_ was a pet name in Lucifer's book and it seemed useless to argue about that of all things. In a way Nadine didn't even disapprove of it too much. After all Lucifer usually said the words with fondness, like he really meant them as a pet name and nothing else.

"She calls me by a girl's name," Lucifer shot back with some indignation in his voice. There was a short pause before Lucifer decided there was in fact something he wanted to know, even though the question would prolong his conversation with Nadine. "Why is that woman still a part of your life anyway? Her relation to you died with your husband."

"She's still Gracie's grandmother," Nadine managed to say after she successfully fought back tears. Josh and especially the fact that he was dead, had been brought up a couple times too many for comfort that day. "Besides, that's not how it works."

"How what works?" Lucifer asked with a deep frown.

"Family!" Nadine exclaimed, waving her arms helplessly, "You don't get to be part of a family for a while and then just leave when it becomes inconvenient."

Lucifer slowly got two more slices of bread to finish his sandwiches as he tried to comprehend what Nadine was talking about. People left their families all the time. Hell, even angels did it! Of course, the biological connection humans had to each other didn't go away no matter how far they ran or the god-given connection all angels had for that matter. Lucifer didn't think the woman was talking about biology or grace for that matter though. In that case, she was wrong of course. Lucifer had been completely disowned by his family a long time ago.

"You don't even realize how lucky you are with your brothers, do you?" Nadine asked when Lucifer didn't say anything. It was easy enough for her to read the way every single muscle in the former archangel's body tensed up though. Her statement caused that reaction in him and Nadine could draw her conclusions from it.

"Excuse me? Have you read the bible?" Lucifer retorted, his voice sounding more agitated than he was comfortable with, "And that's the dumbed down human version! The things that went down..."

"Are ancient history now. You said you're not the devil anymore and so help me..." Nadine argued, before she took a short breathing break to soften her tone considerably, "Look, I won't pretend I don't have troubles seeing anything else in you sometimes and I didn't even know you back when you still were... Satan."

"Isn't that good to know?" Lucifer snorted.

"Shut up, that's not what this is about," Nadine shot back without any heat in her voice though, "Have you ever stopped for a moment and really thought about the way Samandriel treats you, or Gabriel for that matter?"

Lucifer opened his mouth to give a scathing reply, before he snapped it shut, grabbed his sandwiches and went back upstairs. Samandriel was in fact doing much more than simply guarding him and the family as he had been ordered to, even Lucifer had to admit that. The baby angel also wasn't only nice to Nadine and Grace, he went out of his way to be friendly and make conversation with Lucifer too. Samandriel clearly tried to give the former archangel a second chance, despite everything he had done and Gabriel... Gabriel was the reason Lucifer had this second chance to begin with.

* * *

* * *

 

"'Lo, you've reached Gabriel, but you don't want to talk to me right now, call again in... let's say two days," the former archangel greeted the unknown number who had called five times in the past hour. Gabriel figured that picking up just to tell them to call again in a couple days and hanging up couldn't do much harm. It wasn't like he planned to let them say anything at all until...

"Don't you dare hang up on me!" Lucifer stated, the underlying threat all too easy to be heard in his voice. The former devil had a hard enough time calling his younger brother and then calling again and again when Gabriel didn't pick up his damn phone, he wouldn't go through this again!

"Lu... we really shouldn't talk right now!" Gabriel exclaimed, nearly a little panicky. Dean's little outburst earlier had been more humorous than anything else, but Lucifer's phone call was a recipe for disaster!

"As if! I won't call again to thank you," Lucifer snorted. It sounded like the former devil wasn't fully aware of what exactly he just said, but then again Gabriel wasn't completely sure he heard right either.

"Huh?" Gabriel replied ineloquently before he could stop himself. They really shouldn't be talking just then. Even if Lucifer was undoubtedly telling the truth and nothing but the truth, it seemed unfair to force him to say those things.

"You gave me a second chance and I am grateful for that. I understand that it would've been easier and safer to just let me die than to take a chance on me," Lucifer answered, "I was mad at you at first and believe me I really tried to hate you, but the truth is that I'm grateful for what you did."

Lucifer didn't like to admit it, but even if the Apocalypse ended with him as the winner he wouldn't have been as happy as he was these days. Sure, he would have gotten revenge on Michael for imprisoning him and revenge on all of humanity for first taking his father's love from him and then destroying everything God gave to them, but once all was said and done Lucifer would have been left alone with a bunch of demons he hated just as much as humanity.

As things were Lucifer had a little girl who looked at him like he was the best thing in all of creation and a -human- life he found was easier to settle into comfortably than he would have ever thought. Besides, Nadine was right -not that he would tell her that- Samandriel and Gabriel were both ready to give him a chance to be his brothers again. It was something Lucifer felt he should not take for granted.

Of course, the former devil only meant to call Gabriel to make a little small talk, maybe use the fact that Nadine clearly intended to let him stay on the longer term as a pretense. Lucifer wanted to remind Gabriel that he was here and that they could simply pick up and phone and talk for a while -as humans frequently did- not bare his soul to him.

"I'm under a truth spell right now that forces you to say all that. I know you really mean it and that makes me feel all fuzzy inside, but we better talk about this when the spell is over," Gabriel quickly explained, not giving Lucifer the chance to say anything more that he would probably be embarrassed about later, "You can thank me for hanging up on you later!"

The former archangel stared at his phone for a few long moments before he put it back on the table. Of all the things he thought might happen that day, even after he realized who exactly he had seen out of the corner of his eye...

"That was weird," Gabriel huffed out a chuckle. It was the only way he could describe how exactly he felt about Lucifer's phone call that moment. Maybe Gabriel could give a more in-depth analysis after he let everything his older brother said sink in for a little while.

In the meantime, there were other things to do. The motel owner wouldn't be too happy once they saw all the symbols painted on the walls and floor. The former archangel figured it was best to just summon Veritas and get her to explain what the hell she thought she was doing, but preparations had to be made for a meeting like that.

"Sounded like the good kind of weird though," Sam commented, looking up from the book on pagan gods and goddesses he was reading. The younger Winchester figured it couldn't hurt to learn more about the goddess they were about to face, even if Gabriel knew her personally.

"Strangely enough," Gabriel agreed as he picked up the paintbrush to finish the sigils he had been working on before the phone call interrupted him. The former archangel still couldn't believe that the curse seemed to be more of a blessing in his case. In fact, it made Gabriel apprehensive to think that his luck had to run out eventually. "You know, you should probably do like Dean-o and leave until I finish all this..."

"Gabe, you saw Veritas back in the park and the two of us were alone for some time after that," Sam pointed out as he closed the book and crossed the room to wrap his arms around Gabriel's shoulders from behind, "Did I say anything I wouldn't have usually?"

The former archangel shook his head before he exhaled deeply and leaned back against his fiancé's chest. Chances were Gabriel only had to ask the right -or wrong- questions to get Sam to say a lot of hurtful things, but it still was good to know that the curse had no effect on their usual interactions.

 

* * *

 

 

Sam and Dean might not be too happy to know that Chuck had started to publish more Supernatural books, but Adam would definitely kill him if he ever found out that Chuck had never stopped writing about the nasty dragon Mada and his adventures. The first story _, The Torment of the Great King Charles by the Claws of the Nasty Dragon Mada,_ might have been born from Chuck's need to express his annoyance with Adam's way of dictating his life as passive-aggressively as possible. However, Chuck later realized that with a few changes it would make a nice morality tale for children, not to mention the potential for sequels! In fact, the prophet was working on those sequels secretly whenever he had some time to spare.

The -not so- nasty dragon was living in the castle with the king and was just about to befriend his shy dragon keeper when the ringing telephone forced Chuck to leave his little fantasy world and return to reality.

"Prophet Shurley, I need your help," Michael stated, not even giving the prophet the chance to even say anything, "I hope you'll believe me when I say that I am the archangel Michael."

"I... I... uh... how did you get this number?" Chuck replied with a deep frown. This probably shouldn't have been the first question to ask, but Chuck thought it was understandable that he was a little overwhelmed at that moment. He had been prepared to answer questions about his political preferences, not talk to one of the former archangels! At least Chuck couldn't detect murderous rage in Michael's voice, which was a good start.

"A person very dear to me called your publicist, impersonating a member of the press," Michael admitted a little sheepishly. Hope was scarily good at lying to people when she set her mind to it. The former archangel couldn't say he liked it, but in this case the ends justified the means in his eyes.

Chuck honestly didn't know what to say to that. In a way he supposed it was good his publicist passed his phone number on to the archangel. They were searching for them after all. In fact, Gabriel would be happy to hear that one more of his brothers had been found. Or rather, gave himself up.

"Raphael might be planning to do something very stupid and I trust you know the right people to call," Michael added when the prophet didn't say anything for a few moments. The former archangel had a lot of respect for his father's chosen prophets, but the prophet wasn't the one he ultimately needed to talk to. Chuck should be able to send the Winchesters his way though.


	30. Chapter 30

**29**

 

"Oh sexiest and most sophisticated of all angels Balthazar, please swing your magnificent ass down here this instant or I'll have to let Dean call Cassy instead," Gabriel prayed, trying and failing to give his tone more than the slightest hint of sincerity. All things considered it really was ironic that Gabriel, the one who the truth curse had been put on, was the one person who had no troubles lying.

Gabriel was reasonably sure that angels would not be affected by Veritas' powers, but on the off chance he was wrong he decided he would rather hear the truths Balthazar had to tell. After all his little brother with the British accent was another one of those people who were unlikely to say anything too far from what he would usually say. Father knew that Balthazar never held back with criticism and harsh truths.

"Why do I have the sudden urge to tell you a few things that I wouldn't be caught dead saying usually?" Balthazar asked with a raised eyebrow as he appeared next to the former archangel. The seraph had no troubles resisting the urge, but it was undeniably there.

"Same reason I need an angel-blade to threaten an old acquaintance with," Gabriel answered with a shrug.

Dean went to get the herbs they needed to summon Veritas while the former archangel made sure they had a weapon to use on the goddess. That was, if she didn't cooperate. In all honesty people thick enough to summon a pagan god sort of deserved to pay the price for their stupidity, but Veritas was definitely going too far here. While Gabriel, even during his Loki days, had always been reluctant to take sacrifice of any kind, he knew how it was supposed to work. Some moron asked a god or goddess for a favor and then they either had to provide somebody else as sacrifice -a practice Gabriel personally detested- or they themselves had to be the sacrifice. So if their first victim summoned Veritas it was well within the goddess' rights to claim her sacrifice, but she overstepped boundaries the moment she decided to hang around for more.

"Pagan magic, of course," Balthazar concluded after Gabriel's -sort of- explanation, "A jilted lover?"

"Me and a goddess of truth? Talk about an unlikely couple," Gabriel laughed. The former archangel couldn't help throwing a side-glance toward Sam, but his partner showed no negative reaction to Gabriel's comment. Things had definitely changed since the former archangel decided to step up and take responsibility. Among other, no less important things, Gabriel re-learned how much he valued not having to lie and hide all the time.

"I better leave before I really say something I might regret," Balthazar stated after he handed his angel blade to Gabriel. The seraph could always procure another one. It was about time he made sure Otheos was doing a better job guarding the armory under his new management than he had under Michael's rule anyway.

"One thing Balthy, about those things you wouldn't be caught dead saying...?" Gabriel couldn't help asking before his brother disappeared into thin air. It was only natural that the former archangel was intrigued after Balthazar mentioned that there were truths he was compelled to reveal while he felt the effect of the curse. Even if Gabriel might not like whatever Balthazar's answer would be, it would be better to know than to have sleepless nights wondering what even his outspoken sibling could be hiding.

"Don't ask brother," Balthazar replied snorting, "I wouldn't want to sound like a bootlicker."

The seraph made sure to disappear before the meaning of his words fully sunk in.

"I'm surrounded by guys who need to be under the influence of a curse to say nice things to me!" Gabriel exclaimed in mostly faked indignation. Having Dean, Lucifer and Balthazar say nice things was much better than the alternative, but it was still baffling and nearly insulting that those were the truths they refused to say out loud usually.

"Not me," Sam replied with a crooked smile as he reached out to stroke Gabriel's cheek, "I'd rather only ever say nice things to you, Gabe. It literally pains me when we're at odds and I hate to hurt you."

"I know," Gabriel returned his partner's smile as he leaned into the touch. The former archangel didn't say that he tried his best to be somebody Sam could be nothing but proud of and to learn from the mistakes he made so he wouldn't make them again. Gabriel realized that he didn't have to say these things, because Sam knew and appreciated the effort he made much more than he hated the times Gabriel messed up. It had taken quite some time, especially after his fall, for the former archangel to fully understand all that, but he had finally internalized it. "I love you."

"I love you too," Sam answered before he leaned in for a short and sweet kiss, "And I love that you don't look like you believe I could suddenly change my mind anymore. You did that a lot after you first became human and it hurt."

"I guess killing a bunch of glittery clowns does wonders to a guy's ego."

 

* * *

 

 

"I'll be damned," Bobby huffed as he scratched the side of his head. The old hunter had been surprised to receive a phone call from Chuck in the first place, but hearing what the prophet had to say made Bobby question if he wasn't still asleep and dreaming. Who would have thought that Michael would give himself up voluntarily? Lucifer was a surprise on his own and he only called because he would have died otherwise.

"I'll send them to Cincoteague the moment they finish their current hunt. Trust me, they need to finish that one," Bobby stated seriously before he ended the call. Unfortunately leaving the hunt to somebody else wasn't exactly in the cards when Gabriel was the one currently affected by the curse, but from all Bobby heard it was very likely the boys would deal with it sooner rather than later.

"Michael called Chuck," the old hunter informed the sheriff once he returned to his study. Their current project involved trying to find the business man Castiel saw Crowley make a deal with when they were still trying to get the Colt from the former king of the crossroads. Bobby had to admit that Jody dropped by frequently, even when they didn't have any new leads to follow. Not that the old hunter minded and Jody could use all the information about all things supernatural she could think of asking about or Bobby could think of sharing with her anyway.

"That's two of three who gave themselves up voluntarily so far. Not bad," Jody commented as she nodded to herself contently. In the sheriff's opinion it always was a good sign when somebody decided to cooperate with the authorities and in this case the hunters -Gabriel especially- were the authorities. Things had already gone better than anybody could have expected with Lucifer, the least likely candidate for a happy ending if you asked Jody, and they weren't looking too bad for Michael.

"One of them going dark side is all we need for disaster," Bobby pointed out in a gruff tone. All they knew of Raphael this far suggested that they had one problem at their hands already, even if Michael should turn out to be another success story like Lucifer. Granted, Raphael might be held by Crowley against his will, but there was simply too much information that would spell nothing but trouble for them and the world the former archangel could give up if voluntarily or under torture.

"You know Bobby, it wouldn't kill you to be a little more optimistic," Jody retorted, shaking her head over the old hunter's antics. The sheriff understood where Bobby was coming from she really did, but Jody found it easier to deal with all the crap life threw their way if she forced herself to remain somewhat optimistic. Not that it was easy.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Bobby huffed, giving Jody a pointed look. Then again, the hunter understood Jody's point and he had to admit that he was in a better mood lately than he had been for some time. It was nice to have someone around regularly to bounce ideas off of and the company wasn't bad either.

"Right," Jody shrugged a little apologetically. It was about time they changed the subject and there was something the sheriff wanted to talk about anyway. "Would you mind if I cooked dinner here? I've got a night shift coming up."

Not to mention that Jody enjoyed cooking for two and eating in company more than she liked the prospect of going back to her house and being alone until she had to go to work. Bobby never explicitly said it, but Jody had a feeling that the old hunter secretly liked having someone around too. They were quite the match like that.

"I..." Bobby started before he shook his head and said, "No, knock yourself out."

The old hunter felt a little awkward having someone cook dinner for him in his own house, but he could always make it up to the sheriff and invite her to the next home cooked meal he made. Bobby's chili was nothing to sneeze at, if he said so himself.

 

* * *

 

 

"As it turns out, there is only one purgatory native currently residing on Earth," Crowley stated in a pleasant tone as he closed the door to Raphael's room behind himself, "You know darlin', we're working together right now, so passing on relevant information should be a given!"

The demon's entire stance and his too friendly smile gave away that he was close to yelling -like he regularly did with his underlings- which gave Raphael more satisfaction than he cared to admit. Of course, the former archangel had known -or at least strongly suspected- that there was only one monster that had escaped from purgatory on Earth, but he had seen no reason to tell Crowley about it. The king of hell found out by himself quickly enough anyway.

"Why would it matter? You need the blood of one purgatory dweller and there is one," Raphael retorted without missing a beat, "I told you everything you needed to know."

Something inside Raphael was still protesting against the idea of working with the demon, but the former archangel silenced that part of himself with the knowledge that he was only using the demon to reach his goal anyway. Raphael was only collaborating as long as absolutely necessary to get back into heaven. Of course, he needed Crowley's plan to work for that, but making the demon work harder for it was not only possible, but also very gratifying.

"There is no I in team! You would do well to remember that," Crowley raised his voice until he was close to yelling. They might only be a team as long as it took to open purgatory, but they were still working toward a common goal for the moment.

"Can you get the monster or can't you?" Raphael asked coolly as she located the remote control to switch on the TV. It wasn't exactly a pastime the former archangel found particularly interesting or rewarding, but it was definitely better than talking to the demon.

Crowley didn't answer and instead stalked from the room on the search for a lowly demon who did something -anything would do really- wrong so he could let loose some of the frustration he felt.

 

* * *

 

 

"Long time no see," Gabriel greeted Veritas as soon as the goddess materialized inside the motel room. The sigils the former archangel painted on strategic points in the room should ensure that Veritas wouldn't be able to use any of her powers against them. Any of the powers beside forcing everyone in her close vicinity to tell the truth that was. It was insanely difficult to block a god's quintessential power and it seemed pointless in this case anyway. It would be good enough to stop her from throwing them around like rag dolls and moving faster than they could see.

"Not nearly long enough," Veritas replied, her pleasant tone a stark contrast to what she actually said. Nothing in the goddess' stance gave away that she was in a room with wardings that took most of her powers away and three armed men.

"Says the goddess who saw me and didn't turn the other way, but instead chose to put a curse on me forcing me to summon her," Gabriel retorted, "It wasn't much of a curse, by the way. Turns out nobody had anything bad to say about me."

Veritas snorted and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Of course, she could have decided to leave without a fight when she spotted Loki -or rather Gabriel- but why should she of all people yield to a liar like him? Even his godly status was a trick!

"Did you even ask any of the hard questions?" Veritas raised an eyebrow at the former archangel. People generally revealed truths they wouldn't want to reveal in normal circumstances under the influence of Veritas' powers. There undoubtedly were people who avoided saying overly nice things more than they did negative truths. That Gabriel apparently had encountered only such people before he figured out what was happening to him meant nothing except that he was a lucky bastard.

"Do I look fat in those jeans?" Veritas offered an example, before she fixed her gaze on the younger Winchester brother, "What do you hate most about me? Which one of us do you love more?"

It wasn't exactly a secret that Gabriel had fallen for Sam Winchester in more than one way. It stood to reason that a couple harsh truths out of his mouth would be the hardest for Gabriel to hear and everybody knew just how co-dependent the Winchesters were.

"Shut your mouth, you bitch!" Dean demanded before Sam could even open his mouth, "Not like Sammy's heart isn't big enough to love both of us equally!"

Everyone's eyes were on the oldest Winchester which made a quite impressive bitch face appear on Dean's face. At least the oldest Winchester would have surely dubbed the expression a bitch face if it had been on his younger brother's face.

"You seem remarkably sure of that," Veritas sneered even as Sam nodded his agreement with his older brother's statement.

"I know my brother," Dean retorted without missing a beat, "And for all his faults, the short stop would never make Sam choose anyway."

Gabriel could only mirror his partner and nod to that. The former archangel knew better than most that Sam needed his brother. Gabriel was reasonably confident that he could keep his partner from crashing and burning -again- if anything should happen to Dean -which was unlikely given how protective Castiel tended to be over the oldest Winchester- but forcing Sam to choose between Gabriel and Dean would be cruel in any case. Besides, the former archangel liked Dean and wanted to have him in their life anyway.

"While we're already speaking about me again," Gabriel stated a moment later, clearing his throat a little awkwardly, "How about you lift the curse and leave this town so I won't have to introduce you to my angel blade?"

It looked like Veritas thought about resisting at first, but when the former archangel moved in on her she groaned loudly and waved her hands. Gabriel quickly broke the sigil that kept Veritas confined to the room to allow the goddess to leave before one of the Winchesters -read: Dean- could change his mind about letting her go. The former archangel probably wouldn't have much of a leg to stand on if they came across Veritas again, but this once he wanted to let her go in the hopes that she would at least stick to the pagan code -guidelines rather than laws for the most part- in the near future.

"I hate your guts and you'll never be a member of this family," Dean suddenly stated, looking directly at Gabriel. There was no heat in the oldest Winchester's voice though as he recited the statement. Dean nodded to himself contently as he concluded, "Looks like she really took the curse off you."

"You know Dean-o, you could've just said 'Yes, your ass looks fat in those jeans' to test that," Gabriel pointed out, though there was a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Nah," Dean brushed the former archangel's comment off, "I had to tell a lie."


	31. Chapter 31

**30**

 

Sam thought it was cute how the rumble of the Impala's engine could lull Gabriel to sleep in less than an hour, especially if they were on a long stretch of road without anything too interesting to look at outside. The former archangel looked too adorable with his head leaning against the side window, his mouth slightly ajar as he snored softly. Gabriel generally managed a quite deep sleep in the car, so Dean's music didn't wake him and neither did the brothers talking. Sam intended to take full advantage of the latter.

"Hey Dean, you... uh... you said a couple really nice things back there," the younger Winchester stated a little awkwardly.

They only just left Illinois and were on their way to Virginia after Bobby informed them of Michael's phone call. They would have to stop for the night somewhere in between those states, but Sam was willing to bet Dean would drive for at least another hour before they started to look for a motel. All in all, it seemed like a good moment to talk about something that had been on the younger Winchester's mind ever since they -temporarily- got rid of Veritas.

"Do you have to remind me of that?" Dean groaned, making sure his tone sounded pained enough to really get the message across that he didn't want to talk about any of the things he said while under the influence of the truth curse ever again. Of course the oldest Winchester meant every word he said -how could he not?- but that didn't mean he would have said any of those things usually or that he wanted to discuss them now.

"I just wanted to say thank you," Sam shrugged and smiled at his older brother. It wasn't like the younger Winchester intended to torture Dean by forcing him into any further chick flick moments that day, but some things simply had to be said. "I know that level of trust doesn't come easy..."

"You can shut off chick flick mode now, Sammy," Dean commented in a sharp tone, throwing a side glance at his younger brother to make sure Sam wasn't about to continue talking about it anyway. Once the oldest Winchester was satisfied with his younger brother's silence he added, "You've earned it."

Sam might have been tempted to say thank you, but Dean reached for the volume control of the radio before his younger brother managed to open his mouth.

 

* * *

 

 

"When did you think you'd inform me of this... development?" Gregory asked exasperatedly once Michael closed the door behind him. The minister wasn't stupid. He had seen the way Michael and Hope were getting closer, but Gregory foolishly believed that someone would think to tell him if -or when- they started a relationship. He had obviously been wrong, as the sight of his niece kissing their guest behind the house just minutes ago proved all too clearly.

Michael looked a little uncomfortable, but remained silent. In all honesty, the former archangel intended to let the minister know that he was courting his niece, but Hope insisted that her uncle would only give himself a headache overthinking things as soon as he knew. It looked like she hadn't been wrong.

"I understand that you're both adults, but I have a right to know what's going on under my roof. Especially when it has the potential to break my niece's heart," Gregory stated seriously when Michael remained silent. It wasn't that the minister didn't approve of his niece's choice in company. God knew she had shown just how bad her taste and judgment could be in the past. All things considered, Michael was an enormous step up, if only there wasn't the issue of him being a runaway. "I know that you don't intend to do anything like that Michael, but you are not in a position to say what your future could possibly bring right now."

Michael clearly was not quite done finding himself yet and who knew what exactly he would find in the end? The young man could be gone again, back to the life he left behind, just as quickly as he appeared and Hope would be devastated.

"Frankly Sir, you are wrong," Michael spoke up in a strong voice, "I admit that I don't exactly know where my path will lead me from here, but I do know that Hope will be walking it with me for as long as she chooses to do so."

Michael wasn't known to change his mind easily once he came to a decision. The former archangel decided weeks ago that being around Hope and learning from her was the right thing to do. His decision that he wanted to explore the full potential of their relationship was a much more recent one, but he was no less sure about it.

"I have come to the understanding that I've made a lot of mistakes lately, but this is not one of them and I will do right by your niece every step of the way," Michael added after a moment of stunned silence from the minister.

After the first awkward incidence following their first kiss, Michael and Hope came to the understanding that they had to progress their relationship slowly. In the end they both had to feel fully comfortable with the way things were going and Michael simply wasn't the kind of guy to rush into things and feel good about it. As a matter of fact, Hope had to admit that while she had no problem jumping the gun on some unwritten or written rules about the proper order of things in a relationship she also didn't mind things moving along much more slowly. It was all about the way Michael managed to always make her feel like what they had was wonderful and didn't constantly have to ask for more.

"Did nobody ever tell you that it's quite impolite to eavesdrop?" Michael smirked as he passed by Hope on the way out of her uncle's study. There was no way the young woman hadn't been listening in on their conversation with how close to the door she was standing.

"At least as impolite as talking about someone behind their back," Hope retorted as she followed Michael to the kitchen. The young woman idly wondered if the former archangel wanted something to eat or if he simply wanted to get away from her uncle's study, but in the end she would follow him either way.

"It seems we're even then," Michael commented with a light shrug before he suddenly stopped, turning to meet Hope's eyes and stated, "I meant every word I said."

Hope smiled as she put her hands on Michael's shoulders and leaned in to give the former archangel a quick peck to the lips. "I know."

 

* * *

 

 

"Gabe," Sam said in a hushed tone as he shook the former archangel's shoulders gently, "We're at the motel."

Gabriel's eyes opened slowly and he had to blink a couple of times before he could even process what his partner just told him. It was bad timing that led to the former archangel's sleep being interrupted during one of those awkward sleep phases where waking up left him disoriented and more than a little sluggish.

"Hmph," Gabriel groaned as he turned his face back toward the seat, "I don't see me moving anytime soon."

It would take some time for the former archangel to be awake enough to get out of the car. Given the time his sleepy mind would eventually realize that being inside the motel was preferable to sleeping in the parking lot, but that moment every fiber of his being was unwilling to move.

"I don't see me sleeping in a king-sized bed alone," Sam retorted with an amused snort as he leaned into the car to wrap one arm around Gabriel's waist and brought the other under the former archangel's knees.

"Woah, what're you..?" Gabriel nearly squeaked when Sam tightened his grip on him and lifted him out of the Impala. The younger Winchester turned around and bumped the car door shut with his knee, not showing any sign of wanting to let go of his partner anytime soon. "You can put me down now. I'm definitely awake enough to walk."

"Nah, I'd rather not," Sam grinned as he started to walk toward Dean who came out of the office with the keys to their rooms.

"Careful muffin, I'm precious cargo!" Gabriel exclaimed as Sam had to climb up two steps to get to the room Dean was pointing to.

"You really think you have to tell _me_ that?" Sam laughed even as Dean rolled his eyes over his brother's antics. It really wasn't easy being the third person next to the -overly- happy couple at times. Then again, Dean only recently had to admit that one of the things he liked about Gabriel was how happy he made Sam and that hadn't changed over the course of the previous day.

"I'll unlock the door for you, if you promise to keep it down," Dean offered, giving his younger brother a stern look. The oldest Winchester might approve of his little brother's relationship, but he still didn't want to hear any of the things that went on behind closed doors. Of course, Dean also didn't want to see any of it, but that was easier to avoid than anything auditory given how thin the walls of most motel rooms were.

"Aye, aye Captain Dean-o, Sir," Gabriel agreed with a mock salute before he started to hum ' _love lifts us up where we belong'_ under his breath.

Dean snorted, but quickly unlocked the door for them anyway. His room was two doors down. That should do. Hopefully.

 

* * *

 

 

Nadine woke up with a start. For a moment she wasn't sure what exactly caused her to wake up at 3 a.m. but then there was another loud noise coming from downstairs. Maybe the reasonable thing would have been to stay in her bedroom, but Nadine reasoned that whatever caused the noise couldn't pose a danger to her family. Samandriel would intervene, if there had been a burglar. The only logical conclusion was that Lucifer was causing the commotion. Granted, Samandriel or Gracie could have been the culprits too, but looking at the list of suspects, Lucifer was the one who stood out.

"Lucifer, you are only going to hurt yourself," Samandriel stated in a nearly pleading tone.

Nadine came to a halt just outside the kitchen door as she heard that. Whatever Lucifer was doing was bad enough for Samandriel to show himself, but not bad enough for forceful intervention. There was another loud noise. Shattered porcelain. Nadine was ready to go into the kitchen and read Lucifer the riot act when the former archangel's reply made her stop in her tracks.

"Good!" Lucifer shouted, "Don't say I don't deserve it!"

The former archangel had woken up in cold sweat about an hour earlier. First Lucifer tried to simply shrug his nightmare off and go back to sleep. When that failed he started to pace the room and after that didn't do anything his feet somehow led him to the kitchen. The image of all the children he had to kill to summon and bind Death had flashed before Lucifer's inner eye once more. He had reached out blindly and smashed the first thing his hands came into contact with. A plate as it turned out.

A couple more followed when -like in the dream- the faces of all those children in his mind's eye suddenly transformed into Grace's.

"How many of those I killed were just like Grace?" Lucifer yelled clearly agitated, "How many, Samandriel?!"

Samandriel realized that there was no answer he could give his brother that would satisfy the former archangel. All the seraph could do was to try for damage control, but he wasn't sure how to accomplish that either. In a way it would have been easier if Samandriel never came to develop any positive emotions toward Lucifer. The seraph could have simply waved his hand and immobilized the former archangel easily enough, but an act like that would damage the tentative brotherly relationship they had built in the past weeks.

"I don't think Nadine will approve..." Samandriel stated lamely instead.

Nadine took that as her cue to enter the room. She didn't say anything and just gave Samandriel a small smile and a shrug, before she gestured for Lucifer to keep going. Nadine understood the urge to just break something all too well. The same urge that had been there when Josh first got his diagnosis and again when he died. Not to mention the countless times in between. Nadine generally didn't indulge the urge when it came up, but there were moments when nothing else helped.

Granted, it would have been preferable if Lucifer could have settled for punching a pillow, but it sounded like the former devil had only just been hit with the magnitude of his wrongdoings so Nadine could cut him so slack there.

"Mommy? Luci?" Gracie asked still a little sleepily, but clearly worried. The little girl was a deep sleeper so she took a bit longer to wake up from all the noise than her mother did, but once she did Gracie had hurried downstairs to see what was going on.

"It's okay, Gracie. We're just venting a little frustration," Nadine explained in a gentle tone, before she reached out to get a plate herself and unceremoniously dropped it to the floor, "I never liked those dishes anyway."

Gracie frowned deeply, looking from her mother to Lucifer to Samandriel. Something was going on that the little girl didn't understand, but she was distracted from that thought when her mother offered her a plate. Gracie only had to think for a moment before she stated vigorously, "I hate it when grandma yells at mom!" and smashed the plate.

"Me too!" Nadine agreed just as energetically and dropped another plate. She took a moment to regard the shards littering the floor already before she locked eyes with Lucifer and nodded toward the plates.

Lucifer wanted to say how stupid all this was, but instead he grabbed another plate and threw it to the floor with much more force than necessary as he yelled, "I'm not that monster anymore!"

Gracie tugged on her mother's sleeve and pointed toward the plates."I don't want Luci to be sad!" the little girl stated with a pout as she added some more shards to their growing collection.

"I am not a lost cause!" Lucifer's chest was heaving as he smashed the last plate. He was not a lost cause, he couldn't be. Grace saw something in him, something worth caring for and loving. Something that made her sad when he was sad. It had taken some time, but Lucifer saw the same things in the little girl clear as day and some part of him considered it all too possible that Gracie wasn't the only lovable human.

Silence fell over all of them as Lucifer took this new realization in.

"Feeling better now?" Nadine asked after a few long moments of silence.

Lucifer took a deep breath and nodded curtly. Better was probably not the right word to describe how he was feeling, but it came close enough. The moment Gracie wrapped her arms around his middle and squeezed tightly, Lucifer definitely felt better though.

"And tomorrow we're going to buy new dishes," Nadine stated with a small smile before she added seriously, "If you break it, you've got to fix it."

Lucifer stared down at the broken shards his breath still evening out. Grace was carefully carried past the shards by her mother and ushered back up to bed, before Nadine moved to grab the broom while handing him the dustpan.

 

* * *

 

 

"Hello Dean," Castiel greeted the oldest Winchester. The blue-eyed seraph had hurried to follow his charge's call. Dean's disappointment over Castiel not coming to Earth the moment he called was still fresh on the angel's mind and this time there had been nothing demanding his presence in heaven and making it impossible to answer Dean's prayer momentarily.

"Now that's what I call a quick response," the oldest Winchester huffed out a laugh, even before he took a step back. Castiel had the uncanny ability to always pop up just a little too close for comfort, but it was just one of those things the angel did and in all honesty it didn't bother Dean too much.

"Things have calmed down remarkably since we last saw each other," Castiel explained seriously, but with a small smile on his face. As it turned out, there were a lot of very difficult ethical questions to consider before they could allow angels who had yet to acquire a vessel, but wished to experience Earth for themselves to go and find their potential vessels. In general heaven's new -or rather old, but once more strictly enforced- policy heavily relied on informed consent. However, there were certain questions some of their brothers and sisters brought up. How much information had to be given for it to be considered informed consent? Why should a human who was using his body to hurt others in the vilest ways possible have more of a right to walk the Earth than the angel destined to inhabit the body? Of course, Balthazar gladly left it to Castiel to concern himself with those and other questions.

"Great, so you'll have some spare time soon?" Dean asked. The oldest Winchester still quite liked the idea of having Castiel in the backseat alongside Gabriel. That would at least even things out a bit. Dean would have his own angel around to talk to and complain to when Sam and Gabriel were too busy with each other.

"I believe you will have another passenger in the backseat in the foreseeable future," Castiel answered as if he had read the oldest Winchester's thoughts when in fact the seraph simply thought of Dean's offer as often as he had a moment for himself. Knowing what was waiting for him once heaven was up and running was all the incentive Castiel needed to push through even the most difficult of days.

"Awesome, that's awesome dude," Dean replied a little too happily for his own taste, so he chose to change the topic, "So, Michael called Chuck who called Bobby who... We're on our way to Michael now."

Castiel nodded curtly. "I will inform the guardian I chose for Michael of his new duties shortly then."

"No big fight over letting the archangel live this time?" Dean asked with a crooked grin. The oldest Winchester wouldn't shed a tear if Michael died, just like he wouldn't have had shed a tear over Lucifer, but he could just imagine the drama it would cause if anybody so much as suggested getting rid of Michael while Gabriel was listening. To be fair, Dean understood where the former archangel was coming from. The oldest Winchester would throw punches over anybody suggesting that it would be better for Sam to be dead too.

"I learned my lesson," Castiel stated seriously. The blue-eyed seraph still stood by his opinion that things with Lucifer could have easily gone wrong, but it was a proven fact that they hadn't. If Lucifer could become a better person, who was to say that wasn't true for any of the other former archangels? "I have to speak to Otheos now."

"Alright, but Cas..." Dean cleared his throat awkwardly before he managed to speak on, "Look, you don't have to wait for me to call you to pop in. I'm... uh... I'm always happy to see you."

Castiel looked taken aback for a moment before a small smile spread over his face. That was another offer the seraph would gladly make use of in the future.


	32. Chapter 32

**31**

 

Dean parked the Impala in front of a house that couldn't have been more of the white picket fence variety if it actually had a white picket fence. In fact, that applied to the entire neighborhood. All in all, Dean was tempted to call it too good to be true, despite -or rather, especially because of- the fact that they found Lucifer in a similar neighborhood only in a different state.

"Are we at least considering the possibility that this could be a trap?" the oldest Winchester asked. A side glance toward his three companions gave Dean the answer to his question even before his younger brother opened his mouth.

"I don't... okay, I guess it could be," Sam amended after Dean shot him a warning glare. The oldest Winchester probably wasn't even aware of the fact he had done it, but Sam still felt like he had to at least acknowledge his brother's worries because of it. "But Michael is human and he had to know we would bring at least one angel. He still gave himself up voluntarily. Hell, we might've never found the guy, if he hadn't."

With Lucifer and Raphael they at least had an idea what they looked like, but Michael was a great big question mark. For all they knew the former archangel hadn't had a vessel at the time of his fall, so he could literally be anyone.

Sam's inner musings were interrupted when they went up to the house to ring the doorbell. However the noises coming from the backyard were a good enough reason to forego the front door and just walk around the house. It sounded like there was some sort of party going on with music and laughter bouncing through the air. What the Winchesters and their companions didn't know was that they were about to crash the annual church barbecue.

Michael wasn't entirely sure how he had been roped into manning the grill, but he supposed it had something to do with the amused grin on Hope's face when she handed the apron to him. It helped that Hope gladly followed the instructions on the apron and kissed the cook every now and then. Besides, Michael found it easy enough to keep the food from burning too badly while making some idle small talk with some members of the congregation as they gathered their meals. The former archangel's current position meant that the topic that came up most in those short conversations was food and that was something he could easily talk about.

"You son of a bitch!" Dean yelled the moment his eyes fell on who he was sure had to be the former archangel. In their line of work it never paid to believe in random coincidences and the oldest Winchester didn't believe for a second that the presence of a man who looked like the spitting image of a young John Winchester was a coincidence.

Dean was sure he had identified Michael correctly. The next step would be to find out how the hell the former archangel managed to get John Winchester's consent to use his body. The fact that it was a younger version of their father only furthered Dean's belief that Michael had sunken to some new lows to get himself a vessel. The oldest Winchester wouldn't put it past Michael or any of his goons to pull off some weird time travel stunt or something of the like! They had done it before after all. If Dean found out that the angels somehow forced John's hand in this he would...

"Dean!" Sam exclaimed when his older brother took a menacing step toward the former archangel. This was neither the time nor the place for a confrontation like that, no matter how shocking this newest revelation was. The youngest Winchester didn't say that there wouldn't be a time and a place for showing Michael exactly what they thought of using their father -especially a young clueless version that seemed eerily similar to something the angels tried on the boys themselves recently- as a vessel later, but first they had to gather more information and make sense of this entire situation.

"Dean, it is not..." Castiel started to explain as he put a restraining hand on the oldest Winchester's shoulder. Apparently, this was not the right time for explanations as Dean's little outburst had drawn the attention of quite a few people -including the former archangel- to them.

"Michael," Gabriel called trying not to sound too joyful at seeing one more of his brothers safe, sound and quite obviously well integrated into the community. There was no use fanning the flames of Dean's burning anger and outwardly showing how happy Gabriel was to see his oldest brother, no matter who he looked like, might do just that.

"Gabriel," Michael replied, clearing his throat awkwardly. Of course the former archangel put out the call that brought the Winchesters, Gabriel and Castiel to this place, but he -foolishly- assumed they would call ahead instead of just popping in randomly.

"Gab..? So they are..?" Hope frowned deeply before the full meaning of this revelation hit her, "I'll... try to explain this, you go inside."

It shouldn't be too hard to make up some story about how Michael's family had apparently found him and that they needed some time alone to talk things over. It was the truth after all.

 

* * *

 

 

"Are you sure?" Adam asked clearly surprised. The youngest Winchester more or less jokingly asked his angelic friend what the two of them could do to get out of the house before Becky arrived, he didn't actually expect Tarot to come up with a suggestion though. Not to mention that the seraph's suggestion was one Adam would have been willing to bet was closer to Tarot's worst nightmare than a fun afternoon activity.

"Y-yes... yes... school starts s-soon, but we have t-time now," Tarot nodded decisively.

"Just saying dude, that's a lot of people," Adam pointed out as casually as he could. The youngest Winchester by no means wanted to discourage his friend from pushing his limits if that was what Tarot was going for. They could always make a quick retreat if the situation became unbearable for the angel, but Adam still wanted to make sure his friend knew what he was getting himself into first.

"I... I know, b-but it will be... fine," Tarot replied with a smile that came out more nervous than reassuring. The angel was reasonably sure that he could handle the experience. It wasn't like he would ever be far from Adam and he could call quits at any time he felt it was needed. Tarot knew that nobody would be disappointed if he tried and failed.

"Okay, sure, let's do this then," Adam agreed after a short moment of consideration. Tarot clearly didn't come up with his suggestion just to please Adam. The youngest Winchester wasn't against the idea, but the activity wasn't exactly on his bucket list, so to say. So if Tarot wanted to do this for himself that was all fine and dandy with Adam.

"Hey Chuck, we're heading out! Don't expect us back too soon!" Adam called toward the prophet's room as he reached for his jacket. Of course, they would have normally asked Chuck if he wanted to come along, but the prophet had to wait for his girlfriend's arrival and waiting until Becky arrived to invite her along too simply was not an option. Granted, it mostly wasn't an option because Adam had very little tolerance for the woman and Tarot was nearly a little scared of her, but pointing that out to Chuck would just be rude.

"What? Where're you going?" Chuck asked a moment later, poking his head around the corner upstairs.

"Disney World," Adam replied with a shrug, before he added seriously, "Don't forget to, like, put a tie on the door handle... I really don't wanna walk in on anything you and Becky get up to!"

"You're kidding," Chuck frowned, "Are you kidding?"

"About which part?" Adam deadpanned before he smirked and opened the door.

"See you... later," Tarot managed to say before he followed his friend outside, leaving a clearly befuddled Chuck behind. The seraph understood that Adam meant to tease the prophet, but he felt like he should comment on it nevertheless. Especially since they were basically bailing on him, even if in one of the best natured ways possible. "That... that was m-mean."

The angel's tone made it clear that he didn't really disapprove though. Tarot understood that more or less playful banter was something people who loved each other -in one way or another- did. It was all in good fun.

"We'll bring him a pair of Mickey ears or something," Adam chuckled as he waited for Tarot to get into the car. Maybe they'd bring Becky a pair of Minnie ears too. It wasn't like the prophet and his girlfriend couldn't make their own trip to Disney World the following day, if they decided it was something they wanted to do. They were literally only minutes away.

"So, who do you hope to meet?" Adam asked as he pulled the car out of the driveway. There had to be a reason why Tarot wanted to go to Disney World other than the fact that it was just around the corner and Adam was willing to bet that it wasn't about any of the rides. Maybe he would try to convince Tarot to give the tea cup carrousel a try though. Space Mountain would probably be a bit too much.

"I... I know they're cartoons and not real, Adam," Tarot replied seriously. The angel had to admit that his love for Disney movies was what made him think of going to the park to begin with, but he didn't expect the real world to mirror that of the movies.

"Of course, but they're going to have actors in costumes around. Is there nobody you'd like to get a picture with or something?" Adam amended.

Tarot was silent for a few long moments, before he mumbled, "Do you think there might be a C-cogsworth?"

"We're going to find out."

 

* * *

 

 

"For the record, this was not for making me human. I've come to understand and agree with your decision," Michael stated in a pained voice as he shook his hand. The former archangel decided that he would never punch anyone again. Both times he did it just ended in pain for him.

"You sure have a funny way of showing that!" Sam yelled even as he inspected the side of Gabriel's face. At least, it didn't look like Michael's fist had done much damage. The younger Winchester was seriously sick of seeing people punch Gabriel, especially people who should be grateful! The next one to touch as much as a hair on Gabriel's head would learn exactly how much Sam hated anyone hurting his fiancé!

"As I said, it's not about making me human, but for nearly drowning me," Michael pointed out. The former archangel would have liked to say it also was for not consulting Michael before he went through with his plan, but in all honesty he understood why Gabriel hadn't spoken to him beforehand.

"You'd better thank dad for that one," Gabriel retorted after a touch of Castiel's fingers to his forehead took care of the forming bruise. Gabriel had already lived through the pain of letting a bruise caused by one of his brothers heal naturally before, it was an experience he didn't need to repeat.

"While we are talking of fathers..." Dean stated in a strained tone that showed all too clearly how hard he had to try to keep his temper in check.

"My guess is as good as yours," Michael answered with a slightly helpless shrug, "I didn't have a vessel before I fell and then this happened."

"Michael is alone in his body, just like Lucifer and Gabriel, Dean," Castiel added to appease what he was sure what his charge's worst fear. They would probably have to accept that God for some reason chose to give Michael this appearance, but it was only an appearance. John Winchester's soul was... at least it wasn't in this body.

“What, so he just defaulted to our father for some unknown reason?” Sam asked with a clearly disbelieving look.

“Like we need another archangel in the family.” Dean deadpanned with a groan. Sam just rolled his eyes at his older brother.

Gabriel on the other hand gave a mockingly over-dramatic hurt look, hand over his heart and all before muttering about baseballs and special bonds or something of the like.

"Wait... Lucifer? You saw..? You spoke to..?" Michael's eyes widened comically. Somehow the former archangel never considered that Lucifer would be walking the Earth as a human as well. Of course, it was better that way than having Lucifer still wreaking havoc with his powers intact...

"Oh yeah. You wouldn't believe... Damn Michael, you should see Lucifer now," Gabriel chuckled. Boy did he have news for Michael.

 

 

* * *

 

Lucifer never gave much thought to dishes before. They were useful, but other than that completely unremarkable. Then again, the former archangel never knew how many different kinds of dishes there were and some of the patterns they came with were in fact remarkable, though not always in a good way.

It didn't help that Lucifer couldn't decide if Nadine was testing him by leaving him and Grace alone to choose their new plates, or if she was trying to show him some trust. If it was a test the former archangel was tempted to go for the worst choice possible just to show his annoyance over being tested. However, if Nadine was showing Lucifer some trust with the gesture then a part of him wanted to show her that he deserved it.

"I can't see," Gracie suddenly complained, pulling on Lucifer's sleeve until the adult was looking at her. There were a whole lot of plates with all kinds of designs and the shelves were high!

"Nonsense. You are small, but not that small," Lucifer replied with a frown. The former archangel was pretty sure that everything was arranged in a way that everything could be seen easily even from the perspective of shoppers shorter than Lucifer. Even if the shopper might be a semi-small child.

"Totally am and I wanna see!" Gracie pouted while giving Lucifer her best puppy eyes. Of course, the little girl had already seen the plates she wanted them to buy. They had a nice floral pattern that wasn't too flashy and they were on discount too. There was something else entirely behind her complaint and her angel apparently was on to her.

"What's gotten into you?" Lucifer asked honestly perplexed. The former archangel had the nagging suspicion that he was missing something essential here. Until he followed Grace's gaze toward a man with a small child on his shoulders. "Ah."

"Please?" Gracie begged, as her puppy eyes intensified impossibly. There was even the fleeting suspicion that Samandriel might be teaching the girl some sort of magic runes or something to invoke even more…feelings. Though, it was highly unlikely someone her age could even grasp such a concept should he have even attempted. Either way, Lucifer would probably mildly terrorize him for it later, innocent or not.

Lucifer groaned loudly, before he bent his knees to allow the little girl to climb on his back. To the former archangel's relief Gracie settled for wrapping her arms around his neck and having him hold her legs. Lucifer wouldn't admit it, but he found the picture that father and his son made quite endearing too, so he could see why Grace wanted to try it. That didn't answer the other question Lucifer had though. "Why didn't you just ask in the first place?"

"I thought you'd think it's silly," Gracie confessed. Lucifer didn't even like it when the little girl called him Luci in public. It stood to reason that he wouldn't be overjoyed to be asked for a piggyback ride.

"It is silly," Lucifer confirmed with a long suffering sigh.

"But it's fun and I like it!" Gracie exclaimed.

"And that's why you should've just asked," Lucifer shrugged as much as he could while still holding Gracie's legs. After all the fact that his little abomination enjoyed something was reason enough for the former archangel to play along and maybe let her convince him that he enjoyed it too.

When Nadine returned she found Lucifer and Gracie still looking over the different dishes. Nadine's questioning look was met with first her daughter and then the former archangel pointing to a set of plates with red flowers on them. Nadine smiled and nodded. She could only hope that the punching bag she purchased while Lucifer and Gracie were selecting their new dishes would mean those would stay intact.


	33. Chapter 33

**32**

 

"Uncle Greg says he has the contact information of a few pretty good counselors for you, if you want them. You know, to sort out your family problems," Hope announced with a smirk she was unsuccessful in trying to conceal. It was too funny that her uncle basically just suggested therapy for a bunch of angels. Too bad Gregory was unlikely to ever find out.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Michael replied with a crooked smile as Hope took a seat next to him.

"That's what I said, but... ministers," Hope shrugged. At least her uncle didn't try and insist that he be the one to do the counseling. That could have turned awkward very quickly. At least it would have if the other angels were as bad at lying as Michael.

"You can speak openly in front of Hope. I don't have any secrets when it comes to her," Michael informed everyone present when an awkward silence fell over the room. Of course, the former archangel hadn't had occasion or reason to tell Hope about every little detail of his angelic life yet, but he didn't intend to hide any of it all the same.

"Seriously? And you believed all this crap?" Dean snorted. The oldest Winchester wasn't quite over the fact that Michael looked like a young John Winchester. It also seemed Michael got himself a girlfriend to top things off. Dean couldn't help the thought that his life was slowly, but surely turning into a daytime soap opera.

Hope was about to answer the oldest Winchester's question with at least the amount of sarcasm as it had been asked. However, Castiel's sudden decision that this was the right moment to show off his wings as proof -as he had done every time they needed somebody to believe in angels- effectively rendered the young woman speechless.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Hope finally exclaimed, her eyes still fixed on the wall where the shadowy outlines of huge wings had been just a second ago, "That's... he's..."

"You said you believed me!" Michael stated indignantly and with a groan for good measure.

"I did... I do! It's just believing and seeing are..." Hope immediately started to explain before she frowned and retorted with at least as much indignation as Michael had put in his voice, "Are you seriously blaming me for freaking out?"

Hope had weeks to get used to the thought of angels existing and she thought she did a pretty good job with accepting what Michael told her as the truth and nothing but the truth. However, seeing proof with her own two eyes still was overwhelming.

"What? No... of course not. It's perfectly understandable," Michael quickly replied, wrapping his arm around Hope's shoulders and squeezing apologetically.

Gabriel managed to stay quiet for a few seconds before he had to laugh. It looked like at least two of his older brothers had found girls who knew just how to keep them in check.

 

* * *

 

 

"Your highness, we have located the monster," demon number three thousand two hundred sixty five -give or take a few- bowed low, keeping his head down even after the king of hell acknowledged his presence.

"Very good," Crowley replied in his best benevolent king voice, "But I have to wonder why you sound so nervous about it?"

The king of hell took a moment to give his underling a once over as the demon tried to find the right words to answer his question without it warranting a punishment. That alone let Crowley know that his useless minions had failed him yet again. It was just too hard to get good help nowadays. They could have at least made some attempt at their jobs by possessing attractive meat suits or something worthwhile. That might have given Crowley a reason not to throw them to the hellhounds. Seriously, what kind of losers were they letting off the rack these days?

"It turns out... she is much craftier than we assumed," the demon interrupted Crowley's musings, "We're on to her though. It's only a matter of..."

"Then why are you wasting my time instead of searching for the monster? Go!" Crowley yelled, only slumping back into his throne when the demon was gone. Nothing ever went according to plan anymore. It didn't help that Crowley knew well that Raphael was hiding something from him, but had no way of finding out what exactly. The king of hell still needed the formerly angelic bastard and they had a binding contract to boot.

 

* * *

 

 

"Raphael called me. He seemed determined to somehow get back into heaven. That's all I know, but it sounded like... Raphael sounded... desperate and that makes him..." Michael sighed deeply. The former archangel still felt like he was betraying his brother, but it was the only option he had really. It helped Michael's bad conscience a little that Hope agreed it was the right thing to do and that the Winchesters seemed as open minded as could reasonably be expected of them when it came to the former archangels, especially with Gabriel tagging along with them.

"Dangerous," Sam finished Michael's statement for him, "Especially since he's with Crowley."

The king of hell stood by his word to leave heaven alone and steer clear of the Winchesters so far, but Sam didn't believe for a second that Crowley wasn't planning something. There had to be a reason why the demon wanted to get his hands on one of the former archangels and it couldn't be good.

"Crowley?" Michael asked swallowing audibly. That demon was bad news for sure and if Raphael still remembered even half of what Michael did... Heaven's secrets in the hands of hell could be as disastrous as the aborted Apocalypse would have been.

"Crowley got to Raphael before we could," Gabriel explained, "We're trying to put a summoning spell together that'll force Crowley to show up, but it's taking longer than we first thought."

Of course, they still didn't know how to convince Crowley to abandon whatever he was planning and just hand Raphael over even if they got their hands on him. Gabriel doubted that simply threatening Crowley would work on the king of hell. They could summon him and trap him for a while, but that wouldn't help much except to stall him. Besides, if Michael was right in his assessment and Raphael was determined to get back into heaven, Crowley wasn't the only problem they had to deal with.

"All of this spells trouble and I really don't like it," Michael sighed as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Are you completely sure that Lucifer is in the clear?"

Hope put a hand on Michael's shoulder with a small smile. It was stranger than it should have been to hear them talk about angels, especially the angel who fell and became the devil. Apparently, Lucifer was turning his life around just like Michael. A part of Hope was dying to discuss all this with her uncle or some of the more dedicated members of the congregation, but they would only think her father's genes were finally rearing their ugly head anyway.

"Positive," Castiel answered with a tight nod. There was nothing to indicate that Lucifer was straying from the right path again. Samandriel's short reports were always positive and hopeful that Lucifer was still getting better.

Gabriel took a few moments to thumb through the folders on his phone before he found what he was looking for. He then handed his phone to Michael with a grin. "Does that look anything like the old Lucifer to you?"

Michael had to do a double take to be sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. Lucifer was sitting on a couch with a little girl pressed up to his side as he read a story to her. Michael had to swallow a couple times before he found his voice. "Yes, but... the old Lucifer before..."

"Yeah, I know," Gabriel chuckled. Bless Nadine for sending the picture to him!

 

 

* * *

 

As it turned out, Disney World was less crowded than Adam feared, but more crowded than he hoped. Tarot was handling things reasonably well all things considered. The angel never loosened his grip on Adam's jacket, but other than that he seemed mostly fascinated by the different sections of the park they passed through.

"You okay?" Adam asked after a couple of minutes of companionable silence.

Tarot's answering nod was a little too erratic, but the angel managed a smile.

"Okay, good," Adam stated while casually offering a hand for his friend to take. It felt like Tarot was hanging on to Adam's sleeve for dear life at that point, but if the angel said he was okay the youngest Winchester would take his word for it. Of course, that didn't mean that Adam couldn't try to make Tarot more comfortable with a simple gesture like holding his hand.

Some of the people they passed by gave the pair strange looks -at least Adam thought they did- but that was nothing they had to concern themselves with. Especially since Tarot didn't even seem to notice. The angel was much too enthralled by the architecture of the part of the park they only just entered to pay attention to a couple of judgmental jerks.

"Hey look, Belle should know where her friends are hanging out, right?" Adam nodded toward the actress who had been talking to a couple of children, but seemed unoccupied for the moment. At least the youngest Winchester hoped the actors had some sort of plan for who had to be where at what time. That would definitely be helpful.

Adam idly wondered if Tarot wanted to speak for himself, or if he was waiting for Adam to take the lead. It looked like the angel was trying to gather his courage, so the youngest Winchester would be happy to give him all the time he needed.

"We... we... we're l-l-looking for..." Tarot stammered, looking from Belle to Adam and back again a couple of times before he could finish, "C-cogsworth."

Adam was sure that the actress thought she would have to deal with an inappropriate request or some sort of dare. The doubting expression was only there for a split second before it was replaced with a professional smile again. Adam couldn't blame her for it either. Chances were the mascots and character actors would have to deal with a fair share of abuse. The youngest Winchester could definitely give the woman -possibly around his age, though it was hard to tell with the full costume and all- credit for giving Tarot an encouraging smile as soon as she realized that he only had troubles talking to her and wasn't up to anything.

"Of course, I've seen him today. Just..." Belle answered with a bright smile that wavered ever so slightly when she realized how much Tarot's hands were shaking, "Are you alright?"

"Terry's just a little nervous to meet his hero, right buddy?" Adam answered when his friend gave him a slightly panicky look. It was hard enough for the angel to speak to a complete stranger, but the whole setting put him under a lot of stress to boot, so Tarot probably was pretty much at the limit of what he could take.

"Do you need a hug?" Belle asked kindly, not knowing that her question was doing the exact opposite of what she intended. A lot of children were very nervous when they encountered their first character actor and a quick hug could go a long way to show them that everything was alright.

"I'll take the hug," Adam quickly stated, opening his arms in invitation and then whispered to the woman as she leaned in, "He doesn't like being touched by strangers. Really doesn't like it."

Belle looked astonished for a moment then nodded and put the bright smile back on her face. "I'm sure Cogsworth will be happy to meet a fan. Let's go find him for you!"

 

* * *

 

 

"Oh, before I forget," Gabriel stated as he handed a thin folder to Michael, "It's a little late, but consider this your human starter package."

Unlike with Lucifer, Gabriel had no idea what Michael looked like so he couldn't create a passport or driver's license for him. The bank accounts in Michael's name and the birth certificates Gabriel created should still be helpful though. His oldest brother would just have to decide for the one he wanted to use. Gabriel had to make a couple with different ages on them to work around the fact that Michael might look like anyone. He was pretty sure there was one that made Michael twenty-six and that should work.

"Michael Harper?" Michael recited as he shook his head. Of course he needed a last name, but the one Gabriel had chosen wasn't exactly one Michael would have given himself.

"You always liked to harp on... uh... your harp of course," Gabriel replied with a grin and shrug, "It seemed fitting."

"I think it's cute," Hope stated with an amused smile. The young woman could appreciate a good play on words when she heard one. Apparently, she wasn't the only one as the corners of Sam and Dean's mouths were twitching as well.

"Of course you do," Michael exhaled soundly before he added, "I might just have to take your last name on our wedding day."

Michael Anderson sounded better than Hope Harper after all. Not to mention that Hope's last name was a real name she was attached to other than Michael with his new fake name. The former archangel was sure he could get used to it over time, but chances were he wouldn't have it that long. When Michael and Hope discussed their relationship, Michael's insistence that they should take things slow and wait for their wedding night was met with Hope saying that she would insist on a short engagement then.

"Getting ahead of yourself there, mister. First you'll have to ask and I'll have to agree," Hope laughed. Not that she planned to say no once Michael popped the question. It was funny that the man who insisted they should take one step after the other and take their time for each and every one of them was the one who already started to talk about their wedding prematurely.

"Looks like all archangels are a little confused when it comes to the proper order of things," Sam commented, shaking his head not only over Michael's antics, but also because of the face Dean pulled. Granted, it was weird to think that a man who looked like their father would probably get married in the foreseeable future.. When Gabriel didn't respond for a few long moments Sam turned to see his fiancé play with his phone again. "Gabe?"

"Look at that," Gabriel stated cheerfully as he handed his phone over to Sam. At first Gabriel had wondered why Adam would send him of all people a message, but once he saw the attached picture it became all too clear why the youngest Winchester figured Gabriel would appreciate it.

"I... I know that person... He's an angel," Michael stated thoughtfully after Gabriel let him take a look at the picture as well.

"Tarot," Gabriel prompted. The picture showed Tarot standing next to a man in a Cogsworth costume. The angel looked a little nervous, but the smile on his face was genuine. Gabriel made a mental note to tell his little brother how proud he was of him. They already decided to swing by Celebration after they left Michael. John Winchester was Adam's father as well, so the youngest Winchester deserved to know the circumstances and they hadn't met up in some time anyway.

"I remember, he ran away during the Apocalypse," Michael nodded to himself. Apparently another runaway turned up again in the company of the Winchester family. Michael couldn't say he was surprised by that revelation. He didn't understand why the picture made Gabriel quite that happy though.

"That's one way of saying it," Gabriel huffed out a humorless chuckle, "I've never seen an angel so broken, but still standing. More or less."

"I don't..." Michael replied, clearly taken aback, "Zachariah said..."

"Zachariah put Tarot's grace through the blender and broke his wings," Gabriel retorted with a grim expression. At least Zachariah had paid for everything he did, even if some might say his death came too swift and painless. "Nice choice of trusted lieutenants there by the way, brother."

Michael kept quiet after that revelation. The former archangel had given Zachariah permission to enlist Tarot's help on the mission. If Michael had known what exactly his trusted lieutenant as Gabriel put it meant by that... Of course, it would have been Michael's duty to ask questions and prevent Zachariah from going off the rails in the first place.

"Speaking of trusted angels," Castiel broke the silence a few moments later, "Otheos will be responsible for your security. He will arrive shortly."

"Otheos?" Michael asked a little disbelievingly, "Balthazar got past him. Twice!"

If Castiel didn't think that Michael needed effective protection he might as well not give him a guard at all. In fact, the former archangel wasn't convinced he needed a guardian in the first place, but he wouldn't protest against having one. He wouldn't protest against having a good one that was. Otheos was definitely loyal and duteous, but the point that Balthazar of all people got past him twice still stood.

“On his behalf, the second time I helped.” Gabriel quipped in with a smug grin until he noticed the comment went completely ignored. Sometimes it sucked being the short one.

"That is why one of Otheos' conditions for taking the job of guarding you was full permission to punch Balthazar should he ever show his face," Castiel replied seriously. The other condition had been to have permission to punch Balthazar once on the spot. Castiel would deny it if asked, but the smug expression on Balthazar's face when he heard of the conditions, like he was absolutely sure there was no way they would ever be met, was one of the reasons Castiel agreed to them. It couldn't hurt to knock Balthazar down a peg just this once.

"I think I like that brother of yours," Dean commented with a chuckle. Too bad there was no picture of that!


	34. Chapter 34

**33**

 

Sheriff Jody Mill had become well accustomed to Bobby Singer's kitchen over the weeks. They were both widowers and living alone so having a meal or two other together quite regularly was something they both enjoyed. Besides, it would have been unnecessarily complicated for Jody to return to her home for every meal just to come back to do more research or learn more about all kinds of supernatural creatures.

"Homemade sushi," Jody commented, shaking her head slightly, "Is there anything you can't do?"

As it turned out, Bobby was a very good cook. Better even than Jody when it came to variety. The sheriff enjoyed sampling food from other countries when she had the chance, but she never bothered learning how to cook those meals herself. Apparently Bobby was more eager to learn.

"There're things I haven't tried yet," Bobby replied with a small smirk. Keeping the Winchester boys out of trouble and his wife alive might well be the only things Bobby completely failed at, but those were thoughts he didn't need that moment. It was a nice and calm evening with good company, everything else was inconsequential.

Of course, as soon as Bobby decided that the outside world could pretty much screw itself for the evening, the doorbell rang.

"D'you mind if I..?" Jody asked as she nodded toward the front door. A couple of weeks ago it might have felt weird to go and open the door for whoever decided to visit Bobby, but Jody had long since started to feel nearly as comfortable at Bobby's as she did in her own home. So what if certain people started to talk because she was spending time with the town's crazy drunk? Jody now knew how the hunter got that reputation. Not to mention there was a lot more about Bobby Singer that hardly anybody knew.

"Is Bobby home?" the elegantly dressed, blonde woman asked as soon as Jody opened the door.

"Just... follow me," the sheriff replied, even as the hairs at the back of her neck stood on edge. For all of the traps Bobby showed her, Jody knew any run off the mill monster or demon would have a hard time even making it to Bobby's front door and if they did chances were they wouldn't get far in the house.

Jody had to face the possibility that she simply didn't like the fact that a woman who appeared to be around Bobby's age showed up just like that, interrupting their dinner to boot.

"Hello Bobby, it's good to see you again," the blonde woman greeted the hunter who looked surprised -but to Jody's chagrin not negatively surprised- to see her.

"Ellie," Bobby finally exclaimed. While the old hunter was always happy to see an old acquaintance still alive and well, he had to admit he was disappointed that their nice dinner for two had just turned into a threesome.

 

* * *

 

 

Driving into Celebration always felt strange for both Sam and Dean. Of course, they spent a lot of time in seemingly wholesome little towns that weren't quite as wholesome once you scratched on the surface, but there was no case for them in this one. They were visiting their youngest brother who just happened to live around the corner from Disney World in a town originally planned by the Walt Disney Corporation.

Of course, Gabriel loved it. It was the former archangel who put Chuck, Adam and Tarot up in one of his safe-houses in the first place after all. Gabriel would never stop being smug about the fact that he found the perfect place for those three to be. Each one of them was thriving in their own way.

Luckily Chuck chose to take Becky to Disney World before dropping her off at the airport again the moment the prophet heard that the Winchesters were swinging by -and before Becky could find out. Castiel decided to go back to heaven and Gabriel wanted to spend a little time with Tarot. Which left the three Winchesters brothers free to talk over coffee in the living room.

"Wait," Adam frowned deeply before he asked, "Michael looks like... dad?"

To tell the truth, the youngest Winchester never gave the question who the oldest of the former archangels might look like too much thought. Fact was that Dean and Adam were Michael's known designated vessels and the former archangel obviously wasn't in either one of them, which was good enough for the youngest Winchester.

"Like dad did when he was around my age," Sam replied with a slight shrug. The more the younger Winchester thought about it, the less he minded. The first shock of seeing their father who was not in fact their father had passed and Sam was starting to think about it like meeting a doppelganger of somebody you knew by chance. It was freaky, but it happened.

"Wow," Adam huffed. Not that Adam even knew what John Winchester looked like when he was in his mid-twenties, but it was still a strange thought. He now had a genetic resemblance with a humanized archangel.

"That's an understatement," Dean snorted. The oldest Winchester still would have liked to know why the hell the former archangel ended up with a meat suit, vessel, body, whatever the correct term was in this case that looked like their father. Neither Castiel nor Gabriel had an answer for Dean. Their best guess was that it was God's doing for whatever backwards reason. It felt like a cheap cop out, but the chances were it was true.

"I mean, it sure beats him looking like me or you," Adam commented after a moment of silence. At least, this way there was only one version of each of them currently running around. Adam didn't fancy the thought of seeing his own face on TV for something he didn't do, no matter if it was good or bad. That went double for anything supernatural he didn’t do.

"Also beats him looking like nobody we know, but getting his high and mighty archangel on," Sam added. Most of all they had to be grateful that Michael had settled into his human life comfortably and seemed to have no ambitions other than living a good life with his girlfriend.

"It's still weird as hell," Dean groaned, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Of course, his younger brothers had a point, the oldest Winchester could admit that, but he wouldn't get over this whole 'we've got a doppelganger of dad running around' quite as quickly as they seemed to.

"True that," Adam admitted with a casual shrug, before a smirk appeared on his face and he added in a thoughtful tone, "Hey, if Michael and... Hope -was it? - have children, will they be our siblings?"

"Shut up, twerp!" Dean exclaimed in an overly pained tone, "Nobody wants to think of that!"

 

* * *

 

 

"Okay, just a moment. I only need to..." Hope explained as she typed the last few numbers of the bank account information Gabriel had given to Michael into the bank's website. The young woman fell silent the moment the page opened and her eyes fell on the number on top. "Wow, I mean... wow."

"Gabriel never understood the concept of moderation," Michael commented dryly. To tell the truth, the former archangel had not had occasion to develop a real understanding of money yet. However, even Michael knew that the number Hope was staring at was long enough to mean that money was unlikely to ever become a problem though.

"I can see that," Hope replied, clearing her throat awkwardly, "Where did your brother get that much money?"

Michael only gave Hope a pointed look as an answer to her question. The former archangel couldn't say for sure, but acquiring money from various sources was no problem for an angel in possession of their powers. Chances were the Vatican was missing some money from a sundry of their bank accounts, or knowing Gabriel some scumbags who also happened to have a lot of money suddenly found out their accounts had been hacked and the money was gone.

"Right, stupid question," Hope admitted with a shrug. Where the money came from wasn't that important anyway. As long as the FBI, CIA, NSA or some gangsters didn't show up to ask about it someday that was, but Hope felt like she could trust that wouldn't happen. They had angelic protection after all. "So, what do you want to do with it?"

"I want to repay your family for taking me in now that I'm able to," Michael answered without hesitation.

"Good luck with that," Hope huffed out a chuckle, "They won't take your money."

"A donation to the church then," Michael decided, nodding to himself contently. They could hardly reject a donation like that and the thought of helping the community that had taken him in with -more or less- open arms with their projects felt right. Of course, there were other and by far less altruistic things Michael wanted as well. "And... I hoped we could start to look for a house."

As Michael understood it, finding the perfect house could be a lengthy process. Not to mention that the other purchase Michael intended to make as soon as possible was something he didn't plan to tell Hope about beforehand.

"With bedrooms for 2.3 kids and a garden for the dog?" Hope suggested with a grin. The young woman considered adding a room for their guardian angel on her list of things a house had to have, but it seemed that the elusive Otheos quite liked to stay out of sight. Once the angel remembered his manners and made a formal introduction to Hope, she would consider thinking of his comfort again.

"No matter how I look at it, thirty percent of a child sounds tragic, but other than that..." Michael retorted, mirroring Hope's grin for a moment before he became serious, "We're getting ahead of ourselves again."

"First comes love, then comes marriage..." Hope sing-songed before Michael's confused expression sent her into a laughing fit.

 

* * *

 

 

Bobby's self-made sushi was left forgotten the moment Dr. Eleanor Visyak revealed why she had chosen to pay the old hunter a visit after years of radio silence. Of course, Eleanor knew that Bobby wouldn't like the news even before she started to talk. She didn't exactly like having to resort to going to a hunter for help either, though.

"Balls," Bobby huffed out a breath as he scratched the side of his head, "This might've been something to mention before..."

Eleanor and Bobby knew each other intimately after all. The old hunter would have thought that sharing information like 'I'm married and this is just an affair', 'I expect you to pay for this after we're through' or -let's say- 'I'm really a monster in disguise' before getting into a relationship of any kind was common courtesy. Especially if the monster in question claimed she hadn't done anything monstrous and only wanted to continue living her life. Succubi and the like were a completely different kettle of fish of course.

"I didn't get out of purgatory just to have you send me back," Eleanor deadpanned, before she softened her tone considerably and even put a seductive note into it, "Besides, we had good times, didn't we?"

Everything in Jody bristled at hearing the woman -monster- speak. The sheriff had to admit that her reactions to Eleanor stemmed from something much too close to jealousy for comfort, but Jody still felt a little smug that her bad feeling had been correct in the first place.

"Ellie," Bobby sighed. The old hunter had to admit that everything he knew about Eleanor spoke in her favor. There was nothing monstrous about the woman as far as Bobby knew. A peaceful and civilized monster wouldn't be the strangest thing the old hunter had ever heard of. Some were closer to human than others and even though it happened very rarely, some could suppress their urges in order to live among humans undetected for years or decades. Hell, the boys said there were even vampires nowadays trying to fit in peacefully like Lenore’s pack.

"Can't say I've had a monster come to me for help before," Bobby huffed.

"What kind of... being are you anyway?" Jody asked, trying to keep her tone civil. It looked like Bobby was willing to consider the monster non threatening enough because he knew her. Jody realized that she was in the easier position here, so she had to keep an eye on things. Trusting that something clearly supernatural in origin was more harmless than it let on had led to tragedy for both of them not too long ago after all.

"I don't see why you'd need to know," Eleanor replied in a faked sweet tone, "Actually, I do see what you'd need that knowledge for, which is why I'm sure you don't expect me to answer."

"It might help us to figure out why those demons are after you," Jody retorted. After all Eleanor had come to them -to Bobby- for help.

"I know exactly what they need me for," Eleanor stated with a dismissive wave of her hand. And what they needed her for had nothing to do with what she was per se, but everything to do with where she came from.

 

* * *

 

 

Gabriel couldn't say that he was interested in clock repair. It seemed tedious at best, mind numbingly boring at worst. That said, Tarot made it look enjoyable, if only because the sandy-haired seraph was so obviously engrossed in his task.

"Y'know, Michael's sorry," Gabriel stated after he watched his little brother work for as long as the former archangel could stand. Tarot had greeted him and allowed Gabriel to spend time in his room, but apparently the angel didn't think that the former archangel liked to be entertained or at least kept busy.

Tarot twitched noticeably at the mention of the oldest of the former archangels, but didn't reply.

"I think he really gets that he should've put Zacha-" Gabriel mused, before he was surprisingly interrupted.

"I don't," Tarot exclaimed heatedly before he took a deep breath and spoke on in his usual quite tone, "I don't... have to talk... n-not if I don't... don't want to."

The sandy-haired seraph didn't hold a grudge against Michael. Everyone in heaven had known that the oldest archangel made very few decisions by himself. He stuck to the rules of God or went with the suggestions his advisers made. Maybe not making more decisions had been wrong of Michael, but Tarot wouldn't judge him for it. Not when he knew all too well how hard it could be.

That didn't mean that Tarot wanted to talk about Michael and especially not about Zachariah, when the deceased angel's name alone could give him a panic attack on a bad day.

"Right," Gabriel agreed after a moment of stunned silence, "Know what, bro? I'm really proud of you right now."

Tarot returned Gabriel's small smile just as there was a short knock on the door.

"Bobby needs us to come back to Sioux Falls," Sam explained, clearly apologetic for interrupting the brother talk Gabriel and Tarot were having, "He found out what Crowley and Raphael are up to."


	35. Chapter 35

**34**

 

"If Raphael and Crowley are really after Purgatory it might be best to get Michael and Lucifer involved in this," Gabriel mused as the silence in the car started getting too heavy for the former archangel's liking. Gabriel really didn't understand how Sam and Dean managed to spend so much time not talking, especially with there were things they could discuss. There were certain situations in which few words were required from even the former archangel's perspective, but usually Dean wasn't included in those affairs and there was a whole lot of body language to make up for the relative silence.

"Seriously?" Sam asked frowning deeply as he considered his fiancé's words, "I mean, they both have changed some, but..."

It felt like they would be pushing their luck, if they tried to get Michael and Lucifer to work together. As things were, they had been pretty damn lucky that those two weren't searching each other out to settle an old score just as a matter of principle. Of course, Gabriel had to have a reason for his suggestion.

"Having Michael and Lucifer in one room sounds much more like a problem than a solution," Dean finished his younger brother's thought when Sam didn't speak on.

"I know, I know, but..." Gabriel admitted throwing his arms in the air as much as he could in the backseat of the Impala, "I just don't know that much about Purgatory."

"Oh great, the one archangel we already have on the team is the dropout who flunked geography," Dean snorted as he ignored Gabriel's sour look over the rearview mirror.

"You know Dean-o, some of us are still closer to being omniscient than others," Gabriel pointed out in a snobbish tone. Besides, the fact that the former archangel had been more interested in Earth than Heaven, Hell or Purgatory was one of the reasons they had been able to stop the Apocalypse. They would probably still be running around like chickens with their heads cut off, if Gabriel hadn't shown them the way. Of course, it was just as likely that they would have found another way, possibly one that ended badly for the Winchesters given their dramatic natures, but Gabriel didn't want to think of that.

"Big deal when all of us know jack shit about Purgatory," Dean retorted with a slight smirk. Even if it didn't help them any, the oldest Winchester was about to win this argument at least. They could figure everything else out later.

"So, Michael and Lucifer then," Sam concluded thoughtfully. Maybe calling the two former archangels would be obsolete as soon as they heard the full story from Bobby, but it was always good to have a second plan available. Just in case.

 

* * *

 

 

"Gentlemen," Crowley addressed the handful of demons standing next to him. It was just too hard to find good and trustworthy help these days, so the king of hell's options had been very limited. "Don't forget, nobody but me touches a hair on their heads and only I enter the house."

Everything would have been much easier if the damn monster hadn't chosen Bobby Singer's house of all the places she could have hidden in. Apparently, Castiel felt honor bound to the deal Crowley made with Gabriel during the Apocalypse, so the king of hell couldn't consider it broken already. He had to stand behind his word to keep his underlings away from the -extended- Winchester family unless they attacked first. He wasn't going to risk the loophole this time. With everything that was at stake, Crowley really couldn't use the wrath of heaven to descend upon him just because one of his demons couldn't keep from hurting the grumpy old hunter.

"Now go and cause a ruckus they cannot ignore!"

 

* * *

 

 

"Castiel tells me they found Michael," Samandriel told Lucifer. The seraph tried to keep his tone neutral for the former archangel's benefit, but Samandriel was content with knowing that Michael had been found and was settling into his human life comfortably just like Lucifer. Apparently, he was the only one in the room who was happy about the news though.

"Michael is the ass-hole who threw ya into hell!?" Gracie more angrily stated than asked, her homework immediately forgotten.

"Indeed," Lucifer replied with a small, pleased smile before he offered, "I will put money into the swearing jar for you, if you don't tell your mother you heard that word from me."

At least the former archangel assumed Grace had heard him swear at some occasion. Lucifer generally tried to mind his language around the girl -the last thing he wanted to be when it came to his little abomination was to be a bad influence- but sometimes his temper flared up and made it impossible to filter out every single swear word. In a way it was good that they had that stupid swearing jar to make up for his slip ups. Even if money really didn’t matter to the former archangel –partially thanks to Gabriel- the extra action of putting money in the jar per swear word made Lucifer consciously realize the amount he swore.

"Deal," Gracie agreed easily. Maybe later she would tell Lucifer that she really learned that word from her mother a long time ago. Gracie and her fallen angel weren't the only people in the house who had to contribute to the swearing jar regularly.

"Don't you want to hear..?" Samandriel asked a little indignantly. The angel didn't expect Lucifer to be overjoyed to hear of Michael, but Samandriel had hope that his brother would show some interest at least. It would have been a nice sign that maybe someday Lucifer and Michael could overcome their differences.

"No offense Samandriel, but wherever Michael ended up, I'm pretty sure he has a hell of a better time than I've had until recently," Lucifer interrupted his younger brother with a snort. Granted, the fact that Lucifer ended up with his little abomination -and to a lesser, but still significant extent her mother- made up for some of the hurt of the past. However, the former archangel maintained that it was perfectly reasonable to be a little bitter about what amounted to an eternity going by hell time spent in the cage.

"Will we meet him?" Gracie suddenly asked, looking at Lucifer expectantly. After all, Lucifer wanted to see pictures of Gracie's classmates and especially the ones she didn't like so he had a picture to the names. The little girl wanted to know who the jerk of an older brother who threw Lucifer out of heaven was too. Besides, meeting more angels sounded exciting, even if this one wouldn't have his wings just like her angel didn't.

"Are you kidding me, Grace? Have you listened at all?" Lucifer huffed as he rolled his eyes at the girl's antics. There were only a couple of angels the former archangel would be happy to see and Michael absolutely wasn't one of them. Samandriel, Gabriel, Castiel and Balthazar were the only ones Lucifer knew what to expect from. They were on his side as long as he played it nice. Only God knew what any of the others would do if they ever saw Lucifer again. Especially Michael.

"You could kick 'im," Gracie explained with a shrug, before she grinned and added, "Hard."

The boys at Gracie's school got into fights the teachers had to break up sometimes. It seemed that boys -or at least some of them, since her mom always said that generalizations were not the way to go with people- had to hit each other before they could be friends again. Besides, Lucifer's brother deserved to be hit for what he did. There was no doubt whose side Gracie was on in this.

"Tempting," Lucifer replied with a small grin. Apparently Samandriel didn't see the humor in the situation as Lucifer noticed when he threw a side glance toward his younger brother. "Don't look at me like that, brother."

"I will let you know that Michael was never the same after your fall," Samandriel commented, keeping his tone level as to not give Lucifer the impression he was trying to throw accusations around. There was a point that had to be made here though. "Your life wasn't the only one ruined that day."

"Maybe... maybe don't kick him too hard," Gracie stated a little sheepishly. It suddenly seemed possible that there was a side to all this that the little girl didn't know. A look at Lucifer told Gracie that maybe her angel had never quite thought of it like that either.

"Maybe," Lucifer agreed.

 

* * *

 

 

Bobby was convinced that Eleanor only wanted to rile Jody up with all the little touches and suggestive smiles she bestowed upon the hunter. It worked too well to be anything other than deliberation and Bobby had a hard time believing Eleanor was trying to rekindle an old flame after showing up out of nowhere and revealing she was some kind of monster to boot.

For a moment the old hunter nearly welcomed the very distracting racket coming from the salvage yard. It served as a distraction to him and both women after all. Of course, it could hardly be a coincidence that a group -judged by the noise- of people decided to break into the isolated, small town salvage yard not even a day after someone that had a lot of demons after them came to Bobby's house.

"Balls!" Bobby cursed as he grabbed the closest shotgun, "You two go into the panic room, I'll..."

Eleanor only raised her eyebrows at Bobby's unfinished command, but apparently the gesture was enough to let the hunter know how stupid his suggestion was. Of course, the panic room would keep the demons out, but Eleanor didn't have to see it to know it was also warded against all sorts of monsters.

"Right," Bobby cleared his throat awkwardly, before he turned to Jody and repeated, "You go into the panic room and I'll..."

"I'm not just going to just sit around in your panic room," Jody immediately protested. The prospect of being one of those women who were supposed to just hide and wait was bad enough, but if Eleanor wasn't coming there was absolutely no reason for Jody to be in the panic room.

"Jody," Bobby groaned. Realistically, chances were he couldn't protect Eleanor on his own and the boys were still hours away. Bobby could protect Jody though.

"How am I less capable of shooting a couple of demons than you are?" Jody retorted in a tone that didn't allow for any objection.

The old hunter threw his arms in the air in defeat before he quickly grabbed another gun loaded with salt rounds and handed it to Jody. It seemed like Bobby had a thing for surrounding himself with the most stubborn people he could find.

 

* * *

 

 

"Wait until Michael comes back he said," Hope muttered as she climbed the ladder to remove the leaves that clogged up the rain gutter after the storm the previous night. "Like I can't..."

Hope's rant was interrupted by a shrill shriek she would have felt embarrassed about, if the ladder hadn't suddenly disappeared from under her feet. Apparently, Hope leaned a little too far to the right and the stupid thing toppled over.

A second later the young woman opened her eyes. The expected pain from the fall never came, but instead she was looking into the eyes of the stranger who had caught her out of midair.

"Uh..." Hope stated ineloquently. With the unexpected turn her fall had taken, she thought it was perfectly understandable to be too baffled to speak.

"I assumed it would cause Michael anguish to see you hurt," Otheos commented nonchalantly. Technically, keeping an eye on the family was part of the angel's orders anyway, but most of all he was supposed to keep Michael from harm. Castiel stressed that it was of the utmost importance to keep Michael on the good path he was on and allowing the woman he had hung his heart on to get hurt seemed like the exact opposite of that.

"I sure hope so," Hope retorted instinctively before her brain caught up with her mouth, "No wait that... uh... you... you're Otheos I assume."

In all honesty, Hope had no idea what their guardian angel looked like. However, she was pretty sure that the Indian looking man with his dark eyes, short hair and trimmed beard had not been in the garden right up to the moment when Hope needed someone to catch her.

"Correct," Otheos confirmed, inclining his head slightly before he added, "You really should have waited for Michael to hold the ladder for you."

Under different circumstances the young woman could have laughed at the stark contrast between the man's stiff posture, the serious demeanor and the casual outfit. Frankly, she was not used to being lectured with this level of graveness by a guy wearing a polo shirt, khakis and sandals.

"If you'd found it necessary to introduce yourself earlier, you could've done it," Hope retorted in a slightly snooty tone, before something dawned on her and her voice took on a hint of accusation, "Wait, actually you could've done it anyway."

That Hope couldn't see the angel apparently didn't mean he wasn't there, so he could have stayed invisible but still stabilize the ladder for her. Of course, Otheos intervened when it was really important, so she wouldn't hold it against him.

"I could still drop you," Otheos pointed out in a perfectly neutral tone. The angel didn't plan to do it, but he had the possibility. A fall from the height of his arms would hardly hurt the human too badly. It seemed like an acceptable threat all things considered.

"How about you let me down gently and I'll refrain from kicking your heavenly ass?" Hope suggested testily. She wasn't going to let some angel in flip-flops intimidate her, especially not with a threat like that! The couple bruises the fall might give her would be worth it, if Otheos was really even prepared to go through with his threat in the first place.

"I would do as she says, brother," Michael commented, raising his eyebrow at the picture that met him. The former archangel had to run an errand on his own for once and when he came back Hope had gotten herself into trouble apparently. Then again, it wasn't like Michael's presence usually kept her from trouble.

"Thanks and thanks for catching me," Hope said politely once the angel set her down, before she turned to Michael, "Where have you been anyway? I wouldn't have needed to be caught, if you'd been here to hold the ladder."

Michael opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. There was a perfectly acceptable reason for why he had been gone and especially without telling anyone where he was going, but he could hardly tell Hope. This was not the time or the place to reveal his little secret. Instead the former archangel retorted, "Why did you climb up the ladder without anyone there to hold it?"

Hope threw her arms in the air showily before she shoved Michael's shoulder not gently, but without the intent for it to hurt. Of course Michael -plus her uncle and Otheos- had a point, but at least two of those three should know her well enough to know exactly why she had to climb the ladder after being told not to do it on her own. Hope vowed to simply protest verbally against the notion of absolutely needing someone to help her and then wait until Michael returned the next time a situation like this came up.

"I must say, your taste in women is... interesting," Otheos commented, the corners of his mouth twitching traitorously.

Michael frowned deeply for a moment. The former archangel couldn't say he was used to seraphs openly making fun of him, but if that was a part of his new life he could live with it. That didn't mean he had to take a snide remark without offering his own though. "Balthazar got past you, twice."

 


	36. Chapter 36

**35**

 

Bobby moved through the salvage yard stealthily. The hunter didn't get to be as old as he was by stomping around and letting every monster in the vicinity know he was there after all. Not that it was likely the demons would have heard him over the noise they were causing. It made them easy to locate.

The bullets in Bobby's gun and the salt rounds in the shotgun wouldn't do much to the demons, but if he could get them to follow him to the shed they would be met by a couple nasty surprises. It was the best plan Bobby had given the circumstances.

The old hunter aimed and fired at the demon closest to him, but to his great surprise the three men only turned around, their eyes flashing black, before they turned heal and fled. Bobby was tempted to follow them for a split second, but his gut feeling told him that something was wrong with the scenario. A group of demons wouldn't act like that unless...

Two shots broke the eerie silence that had fallen over the salvage yard after the demons left.

"Jody! Ellie!" Bobby yelled, though it clearly was too late already. Something had happened inside the house. All Bobby could do was to sprint back and hope that the shots he heard were a good sign. Like any hunter could be as lucky as that.

Apparently, Bobby's luck ended at his own front door which was not only locked, but also reinforced by some unknown force. The hunter threw himself against the wood a couple of times, but couldn't get it to budge even the slightest. His first two kicks didn't have any effect either, but with the third one the wood finally splintered.

The first thing Bobby saw once he managed to kick the door in was Jody's body slumped against the wall. The sheriff was clearly breathing though, which allowed the hunter to breathe a little easier himself. The feeling only lasted for a moment before Bobby's eyes fell on Eleanor.

"She's a real keeper. Shot the bastard twice before..." Eleanor wheezed as Bobby peeled back her jacket to check on the heavily bleeding stab wound, "A simple demon I could've handled, but the king of hell..."

"Just be still," Bobby stated in a gruff tone as he assessed the situation. The demons were gone. They had what they wanted. For the moment that wasn't what was most important though. Eleanor had lost -and was still losing- a lot of blood. She had to keep still and let Bobby...

"Like it makes a difference now," Eleanor huffed, "I've died before, Bobby. I know what it feels like."

"No, Ellie," Bobby replied, as he tried to apply enough pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding. The hunter knew that it was too late, but as long as Eleanor was still breathing he couldn't accept it. People who had been written off by everybody had made a recovery before, hunters knew that better than anyone and Eleanor wasn't a normal person to begin with.

"Just listen..." Eleanor stated. Her breathing was slowly getting labored, but she could force enough air into her lungs to say the last few things there were to say. "They need a virgin's blood and mine. I'd think they have both now. More than enough..."

Demons far less determined to do nefarious deeds than Crowley was had no troubles acquiring a virgin's blood after all. After Eleanor was gone, getting the blood of a purgatory native would be close to impossible. At least if Bobby and his friends managed to keep them from opening the gate.

"It... it needs to happen during a lunar eclipse," Eleanor added, before she sighed deeply and closed her eyes for a moment as her vision grew blurry, "I'm... sorry for not telling you earlier."

"What're you talking about?" Bobby asked with a slight frown. The hunter was sure that Eleanor had suddenly changed the topic she was talking about. The strangely intense look on her face that slowly gave way to a more vacant expression told him as much.

"You're right... it would've been common courtesy," Eleanor mumbled. She knew she was fading fast, but she had to clear this one last issue up before she returned to purgatory. It was ironic that Eleanor had never wanted to leave purgatory in the first place. A bunch of idiots and their ritual had pulled her to Earth and now a bunch of idiots and their ritual -their need for ingredients for said ritual anyway- would send her back.

"Forgiven and forgotten," Bobby promised, squeezing Eleanor's hand slightly. The old hunter meant it too. It seemed silly to be hung up over whatever exactly Eleanor was now. To be fair, Bobby probably would have never given her a chance to convince him that she didn't deserve to be killed if she had told him back in the day.

"Good," Eleanor breathed before she closed her eyes for the last time.

Bobby swallowed thickly and gently laid her body down before he went to Jody. The sheriff was already stirring by the time the hunter knelt down next to her.

Jody instinctively reached for her gun when she realized someone was approaching her, but aborted the motion when her head cleared enough to recognize Bobby. The sheriff was sure she hit the demon twice in the vitals, but the thing had been less than not impressed and had thrown her against a wall with a wave of his hand.

It took another moment before Jody's eyes fell on Eleanor's body. "I'm so sorry."

Bobby didn't reply and only pulled Jody into a tight hug.

 

* * *

 

 

"We have the blood of one of Crowley's victims," Bobby pressed through gritted teeth as he watched the funeral pyre burn, "And we have a day."

They had everything they needed to summon the demon in a way he couldn't ignore now. The old hunter put his hand over Jody's resting on his shoulder as he vowed that Eleanor's death would be what threw a wrench in Crowley's plans.

"I'll call my brothers," Gabriel stated before he stepped aside. The former archangel couldn't help from thinking that they weren't off to a good start here. Somebody already died, even if her death made it possible for them to finally summon Crowley.

"At least we still have enough time for them to get at each other's throats for a while before we can do anything productive," Gabriel added gloomily and mostly to himself. The former archangel had been somewhat optimistic when it came to Michael and Lucifer earlier, but that was before they arrived at Bobby's just to find death and destruction when just walking in the door. It was a very unwanted reminder that being lucky came very rarely for most hunters.

Then again, Sam's hand on Gabriel's shoulder came as a much needed reminder that Gabriel was the luckiest guy ever.

 

* * *

 

 

"Everyone thinks he's just a harmless, bumbling idiot, but I know how devious he can be," Otheos stated with a long suffering sigh. Balthazar -with a little help from Gabriel- had truly made a mockery out of him! Most angels looked at Balthazar and only saw the materialistic, responsibility dodging, flirty, but ultimately harmless idiot. Otheos knew better.

"At least you get to punch him every time you see him in the future," Hope replied with a shrug as she put a glass of orange juice in front of the angel. It would have felt weird not to offer the man anything, especially after Michael had to go and answer his phone, leaving Hope and Otheos by themselves. The young woman thought she could get used to their guardian now that she had met him. Maybe she would help him come up with ways to get Balthazar to pop in so Otheos could punch him. Chances were the angel would lose some of his bitterness once he had gotten the frustration out of his system.

"Michael?" Hope asked clearly alarmed when the former archangel finally joined them in the kitchen. The expression on Michael's face didn't exactly give the young woman hope that the phone call had gone well.

"Gabriel needs my expertise for something," Michael explained, forcing a small smile on his face. If Raphael and Crowley were truly planning what Gabriel said they were, they were about to face an Apocalypse of a different kind. Michael had a hard time believing that Raphael could have sunk so low, but everything Gabriel told his older brother could only add up to this blasphemy.

Otheos frowned and exchanged a quick glance with Michael before he disappeared. It seemed like the best course of action to check in with Castiel under the circumstances. He had been ignoring the angel radio since Balthazar had taken it over at random occasions to give “tips” about humanity and how to “fit in” amongst them. Only father knows why anyone let him be second in command.

"Okay," Hope replied with a frown, "You don't look like that's a good thing."

"Lucifer will be there," Michael sighed as his shoulders slumped visibly, "What... what do I even say to him after all these years? How do I look at him after..?"

Lucifer had undoubtedly changed his ways lately, but there was no way his younger brother had forgiven him. Michael had not had the chance to earn the forgiveness and it was doubtful that Lucifer would give him that chance. At the same time there were so many things Lucifer had done that Michael was still bitter about. The former archangel thought his doubt that Lucifer would even ask him for forgiveness was fully justified. How could the two of them be in the same room without things turning sour in a millisecond?

"Smile," Hope advised in a soft tone as she put her palm against Michael's cheek, "Just smile and say... it's good to see you,"

"Hope..." Michael groaned, but was promptly silenced when Hope put a finger over his lips. The former archangel wanted to express his thoughts about how a meeting could only end badly, but apparently she didn't want to hear any of it.

"Trust me, I know a little about meeting up with someone who is unpredictable... someone you have a difficult history with," Hope stated with a small smile, "If you go in there prepared for a fight, that's what you'll get for sure."

Of course, there were hurt feelings on both sides. Of course, there were justifications for actions that hurt the other deeply. Of course, the one never listened while the other never stopped to consider the other side. They both knew all that already and while they would have to talk about it eventually, it didn't have to be during their first meeting in literally ages.

"Just smile and see where it's going from there, you might be surprised," Hope shrugged as she removed her finger from Michael's lips. At least that way Michael wouldn't have himself to blame for the first harsh words that fell and sometimes just getting away with as much of a clean conscience as possible was the only thing you could do.

"What would I do without you?" Michael shook his head gently, before he leaned in to brush his lips against Hope's. The former archangel still didn't know how Lucifer was going to react, but Michael at least had a plan for how he would approach things. It was the best he could hope for under the circumstances.

"Run around like a headless chicken, I assume," Hope retorted teasingly, before she added seriously, "You know, maybe I should just..."

"No!" Michael exclaimed before Hope had a chance to finish her statement. It was a purely instinctual reaction, one Michael knew he shouldn't have given the moment he did it. It would be hard to convince Hope to stay behind now that he had given her reason to question why he wanted to keep her out of everything.

"Michael, what are you..?" Hope started to ask, but stopped when she read something in Michael's face she didn't like at all. She then straightened her back along with her resolve. "If it's too dangerous for me, it's too dangerous for you!"

"I don't even know if there'll be any danger at all yet," Michael stated in a placating tone. This far he had only been asked to help out with his knowledge about purgatory. Nobody said anything about getting anywhere close to where Raphael and Crowley would hold the ritual. Of course, it stood to reason that exactly that could happen.

"Fine, then I can come with you," Hope replied stubbornly.

"Hope, no," Michael said in a tone that didn't allow any objections. This once the former archangel knew what was best and he would get Hope to see it. Michael was prepared for a lengthy argument, but instead Hope wrapped her arms around him tightly. The young woman was not meeting his eyes, but the former archangel was willing to count it as a good development nevertheless.

"I... I just... can't lose you," Hope mumbled against Michael's collarbone.

"I will come back," the former archangel promised, as he held Hope close. They had some time before he was expected to meet up with the others and now that he didn't have to spend that time arguing, he could spend it comforting the woman he loved.

"You wouldn't be the first to say that and then just disappear," Hope huffed out a humorless chuckle.

It cost Michael quite some effort to let go of Hope enough so he could reach the pocket of his jeans. The former archangel never planned to reveal his secret like this, but it seemed like the best course of action given the circumstances.

"I didn't buy this not to give it to you," Michael stated seriously as he opened the top of the box to reveal the engagement ring he picked out earlier. Once the former archangel was sure Hope had realized what exactly he had just shown her, he closed the box again and put it back into his pocket. "But I'm not giving it to you now, so I will have to come back."

Hope blinked a couple of times before she nodded and leaned her head against Michael's shoulder. There was no doubt what she would say once he actually gave the ring to her and no doubt that he would try everything humanly -and beyond- possible to return.

 

* * *

 

 

"Don't be like that, Grace," Lucifer groaned when Gracie showed no signs of planning to let go of his leg anytime soon, "I might be back really soon, if Michael decides he cannot work with me."

The former archangel tried to pry the little girl off his leg gently and it seemed that she was about to budge after hearing that he might return very quickly anyway. In fact, the prospect that Michael might take one look at Lucifer and refuse his help -the help Gabriel asked him for- bothered him more than he was willing to admit. Of course, he would be back with his little abomination quickly that way, but Lucifer still loved his brother, even after everything apocalyptic and otherwise, and to be rejected like that would hurt.

"You tell Michael to be nice to you or mommy will sue him!" Gracie exclaimed heatedly, finally letting go of her angel's leg.

Not that Michael's rejection would matter too much when Lucifer clearly had people who stood behind him, supported him and loved him. There was no other way to take Gracie's words, Nadine's answering serious nod and Samandriel's slightly amused expression. In the end, if Lucifer was told to leave there were -for the first time in a very long time- people who would believe that it wasn't his fault. He would only have to make sure that it was in fact, not his fault.

"I'll do that," Lucifer answered with a small smile. The threat might not sound like much, but Nadine could be quite scary if she wanted and Lucifer wasn’t the only one without celestial powers to protect them anymore.

"Call me to say good night?" Gracie requested with a small pout. It was late already. Chances were her angel would not be back before bedtime.

"Of course," Lucifer promised sincerely. He would probably call to say good morning as well. Lucifer had to remind Gracie not to take shit from anybody at school after all. Children could be cruel, but they had no business being cruel to Lucifer's little abomination. One day he would attend one of those parent-teacher conferences Grace told him about to let her teacher know how incompetent she was in his eyes for letting the little jerks tease innocent little girls like Grace.

"Mandy will take care of ya, right?" the little girl asked hopefully. Samandriel was an angel who still had his wings, so he surely could make sure that nothing at all could happen to Lucifer.

"Samandriel will come back to keep an eye on you and your mother," Lucifer answered, "For my peace of mind. The other angels can take care of our safety."

The former archangel didn't know any other angels he would trust with the safety of his little abominable family -since he had already included her mother in his statement- but he was sure Samandriel would give the job his all.

Gracie's pout intensified before she flung herself at Lucifer and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. "Don't die."

"Don't be silly, nobody said anything about dying," Lucifer retorted with a snort to express just how silly he found the idea, "Besides, I'll always come back. My home is here now."


	37. Chapter 37

**36**

 

"Are you stirring sugar into your hot chocolate?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrow at Gabriel as the former archangel dumped what had to be the third spoonful of sugar into his mug. Of course, Gabriel was a sweet tooth second to none, but this was quite ridiculous even for the former archangel.

"Yes," Gabriel retorted with a shrug, before he dumped another spoonful of sugar into his mug demonstratively. He could have as much sugar as he wanted. The former archangel joined Sam for parts of the taller man's workout routines often enough to be allowed all the calories he wanted. Not to mention the other calorie burning activities they got up to.

"Let me rephrase that, why are you stirring sugar into your hot chocolate?" Sam tried again as he stroked Gabriel's back gently. The younger Winchester wasn't particularly worried about his partner's eating habits -even if he couldn't fully approve of them- in general, but it seemed like there was something more behind Gabriel's sudden craving for sugar on top of sugar.

"No particular reason, I just like it sweet," Gabriel insisted even as he leaned into Sam's touch. It wasn't exactly a lie either. Gabriel liked sugar, enough so that he had been genuinely happy about the bag of sugar Dean gifted to him the previous Christmas. Of course, everything sweet was also comfort food, especially when it came to the former archangel.

Gabriel mentally kicked himself just a second later for even trying to keep something from Sam. His partner could look right through him anyway and even if he couldn't, there was somebody who genuinely cared about Gabriel's physical and mental wellbeing. The former archangel abandoned his mission to stir the sugary sludge that had been perfectly fine hot chocolate at one point and leaned back against Sam's chest fully instead. "Maybe I'm a little nervous. I mean, a couple months ago the world would've ended with a meeting like this."

Gabriel was reasonably sure that there was something they could do to thwart Raphael and Crowley's plans. They had a way to summon Crowley and if the former archangel had to beat some sense into the slimy demon himself, he would do it!

Michael and Lucifer both were on good paths individually, but only their father knew how they would do when they came face to face with each other. Gabriel had seen enough of his brothers fighting for a hundred lifetimes and then some. To see them go back to their old ways after they only just learned a couple of important moral lessons would be incredibly painful. For the first time in -nearly literally- forever Gabriel had hope that his older brothers could get along.

"It's going to be okay," Sam promised in a soothing tone as he wrapped his arms around his partner, "I mean, even if the meeting goes badly they both have a support network to go back to."

Gabriel sighed. Sam had a point. Even if Michael and Lucifer couldn't get along, the people who had shown them the error of their ways were still there. Maybe they would walk away from this hating each other, but they would still be reformed people. "I just want them to get along, is that too much to ask for?"

"Yes," Dean deadpanned, before he smirked and nodded toward the other side of the room, "But on the positive side, they're both human and I'm pretty sure Jody has a taser."

Jody saw Dean nodding toward her, but the sheriff had her own problems to deal with and couldn't pay much thought to what the oldest Winchester might have said. The ice-pack Bobby had given to her did a bang up job relieving the residual headache from being knocked out, but Jody still needed to find a way to get out of her next day shift. Technically, she could have used one of the sick days she hardly ever needed, but this was where every duteous bone in her body told her to draw the line. Aiding hunters even if Jody had to bend the rules or break the law for it was one thing, but weaseling her way out of duty by feigning sickness was another completely.

"Yes Randy, the world might end if we don't switch shifts," Jody stated in a snarky enough tone that it made her deputy reconsider his next words. The sheriff didn't have to wait long to get the response she had wanted from the start. "Sunday then. Fine."

It wasn't like Jody minded doing a Sunday shift or even several. She didn't have any children at home who were looking forward to spending the weekend with their mom and Bobby generally didn't care much about which days of the week she spent mostly at his place. Jody didn't believe that there was much she could do in the upcoming battle, conflict, or whatever it would turn out to be in the end, but she still wanted to be there.

"Is it mean that I just saddled one of my deputies with what might be the world's last shift?" Jody mused with a crooked smile. None of them really knew what exactly would happen if Raphael and Crowley opened Purgatory, but it clearly couldn't be good. Apparently, there could in fact be more than one threat of apocalyptical proportions in a year.

"What he doesn't know, can't hurt him," Bobby retorted with a shrug.

"Besides the world is still going to be there," Balthazar pointed out unhelpfully, "Humanity might not be."

Even humanity would likely still be there the day after the next. The eradication of an entire species usually took some time, especially if their planet didn't go with them.

"I have asked Michael and Lucifer to appear in different parts of the house. It seemed wise to make sure they do not face each other immediately," Castiel suddenly explained to keep Balthazar from saying anything more. As much as he appreciated -and needed- Balthazar's help, sometimes his brother's antics were grating on the trench coat clad seraph's nerves. Maybe it was time to teach Balthazar a little lesson. "I will await Lucifer. Will you go and greet Michael, brother?"

"Aye, aye," Balthazar stated with a mock salute, before something dawned on him. Of course, he didn't look forward to facing Lucifer -powerless or not- but Michael, or rather the angel who would clearly be with him, was the bigger threat. Not that Balthazar couldn't take a punch, but why should he if it could be avoided? "Wait a second..."

Sam, Dean and Gabriel had turned their attention toward Castiel and Balthazar the moment Castiel first mentioned Michael and Lucifer. The oldest Winchester couldn't be completely sure, but he thought his angelic friend looked like he had just been caught red-handed.

"Did you just try to set me up?" Balthazar asked, masking his real surprise with laying on the fake surprise as thick as he could, "How could you do that to your most loyal and beloved brother?"

Sam couldn't help thinking that Castiel and Dean were clearly spending too much time together when his older brother and the seraph simultaneously gave the same unimpressed look at Balthazar's antics.

"I think you just answered your own question, feathers," Bobby remarked with a slight smirk.

 

* * *

 

 

Michael, Lucifer and their respective angelic guardians arrived within seconds of each other. As Castiel requested Samandriel brought Lucifer to Bobby's kitchen, while Otheos dropped Michael in the living room. Of course, they were both then led to the study while their guardians returned to guard the respective families the former archangels left behind, but giving them a minute to acclimate themselves before they faced each other seemed like a good idea.

The moment Michael's eyes fell on Lucifer, he basically froze. Michael couldn't say what he expected, but Lucifer looked... human. So did Gabriel of course, but with Gabriel it seemed like a given that he would find a way to accept and adapt to being human. He had always figured Gabriel was blending in with the humans when he was M.I.A. after all. Lucifer on the other hand...

"It's good to see you," Michael finally stated seriously, before he remembered the second part of Hope's advice and forced a nervous smile on his face. It was the best he could do under the circumstances and it wasn't clear if Lucifer would appreciate it anyway.

"Of course, I'm only here for a second and..." Lucifer started to rant, before what Michael actually said hit him, "What?"

Lucifer frowned deeply. It wasn't just about what Michael said. His older brother also looked different and it wasn't only due to his new vessel -or body really. The whole way Michael held himself seemed different. He was tense for sure, but it only spoke of nervousness and not a stance of being ready to argue a moot point.

"It's good to see you, brother," Michael repeated with a more sincere smile. Surprise wasn't the best case scenario, but it was far from the worst. If Lucifer was surprised, he might actually consider what Michael said, which would be more than could be said for the last couple of times they had spoken.

Lucifer narrowed his eyes at his brother as he tried to find any trace of deception. The former devil was reluctant to accept that he couldn't see any. It seemed too good to be true, if he allowed himself the thought. Lucifer's whole posture became a little more relaxed as he inclined his head toward his older brother and said, "Likewise."

"A damn near chick flick moment's not what I expected," Dean snorted. The oldest Winchester couldn't -and didn't want to- hide that he was pleased by this surprising turn of events though. It sure made their lives easier that the two former archangels could get along.

"Were we supposed to hit each other?" Michael asked with a deep frown. It seemed cruel to ask them both to appear when they fully expected the meeting to turn into a fist fight. Then again, the former archangel had to admit that given his and Lucifer's track record the humans had reasons to believe things would go to hell in a hand basket.

"Not supposed to, but..." Gabriel explained a little awkwardly, before he remembered something that made his tone more heated as he spoke on. "You sure did when we met!"

"You hit him?" both Michael and Lucifer asked at the same time.

"It was his fault I nearly died," Lucifer stated with a light shrug. Of course, Lucifer's vessel hadn't been in the best condition to begin with, but without the forced fall the worst that could have happened to him was bursting out of his temporary vessel and being forced find another before he got Sam to say yes. Not that Lucifer wanted to think of any of that. It was over and done with. Lucifer's interest in Sam only went as far as to notice that the younger Winchester had taken a protective step in front of Gabriel at the mention of punches. "To be fair, Castiel did his part too, but what's the point in getting healed if I just turn around and break a couple bones on his chin?"

"Understandable," Michael admitted, nodding to himself, "I on the other hand need to apologize. I've come to the conclusion that it was really more our father's doing that I nearly drowned. Not that I could hit him, even if I wanted to."

"Did you just... Did I just hear that right?" Lucifer asked. The former devil's jaw was close to dropping, but he managed to only stare at his older brother in open disbelief. All things considered, it was the more dignified alternative. Not giving any kind of reaction was impossible when Michael of all people admitted that God was at fault for anything.

"Yes, yes, he's less of a tight-ass, you are more of a goody two shoes. It's a miracle!" Balthazar snarked. A couple of months ago a meeting between Michael and Lucifer that didn't end in bloodshed would have been the solution to all their problems. Not that it would have been possible back then. As things are, a peaceful meeting was only the foundation that made starting to work on their problem possible.

"Raphael and Crowley are trying to open Purgatory," Castiel stated while the surprise over Balthazar's little outburst still lasted and before anybody could snark back. Besides, the blue-eyed seraph hadn't told Michael and Lucifer why he needed their expertise exactly beforehand.

"Why the hell would they do that? I mean Crowley maybe, but Raphael should know better," Lucifer huffed. Crowley was just a stupid demon who didn't know better, king of hell or not. Raphael on the other hand, had been an archangel and knew exactly what opening Purgatory entailed. It had been hard enough to seal those things up in the first place. "There are things in Purgatory not even I in my worst phase would've wanted to deal with!"

"I'm afraid Raphael might think she can use the power of the souls in Purgatory to get back into Heaven," Michael explained in a troubled tone. Raphael came to Michael for help. Maybe if he had been able to provide it. Of course, it was doubtful if Crowley would have allowed it to begin with. Not to mention that Raphael had to be really determined if she considered opening Purgatory a viable option. Michael couldn't have given Raphael an alternative if he wanted to. "Raphael has lost her sense for boundaries and her own limitations a long time ago."

"Fair enough. They'll try to open Purgatory, suck up the souls, break into heaven and will free the Leviathan while they're at it," Lucifer summed up quickly, before he added, "But more importantly, why are you calling our brother a sister?"

"Raphael is in a female vessel, it seemed right to use the appropriate pronouns," Michael explained with a slight shrug. Calling Raphael 'it' would be considered offensive for sure. There were other languages that would have more appropriate pronouns for their situation, but switching to Malay or Estonian would have inconvenienced the humans present. Not to mention Michael wasn't exactly sure if he was still fluent in those languages, not to mention Lucifer and Gabriel.

"We can ask Raph for his or her preferred pronouns when we find them," Gabriel shrugged. Of course, the question 'Hey Raph, do you want us to refer to you as he or she?' would be followed with something like 'Give up on your plans or we'll have to kick your sorry ass'. Under the circumstances, it would be understandable if Raphael didn't fully appreciate their attempt to be considerate and gender sensitive.

"I hope y'all have some ideas of how to get the king of hell to sing like a little birdy," Bobby stated with a grim smile. The old hunter had a couple ideas of his own. Eleanor's death would not be for nothing!

Dean nodded. It was about time they got this show on the road. "Time to summon the son of a bitch!"

 


	38. Chapter 38

**37**

 

"How are the preparations going, darlin'?" Crowley asked casually, before he took another swig of his scotch. They had all the ingredients for the ritual and Raphael announced she wanted to prepare everything so they wouldn't lose any time the next day. Sometimes Crowley wished his average demon had the former archangel's sense for being prepared and efficient, but it was hard enough to keep Raphael under his thumb. A bunch of moronic minions might be frustrating at times, but they were much easier to handle and less likely to rebel.

"All that's missing is the eclipse," Raphael replied curtly, without looking up from the various bottles on the desk. Crowley had to let Raphael get the power she needed to get back into heaven, their deal said as much, but others might still try to interfere. The quicker Raphael could perform the ritual, the less chances there were for interruptions.

"No need to be so grumpy, love," Crowley clicked his tongue in disappointment over the former archangel's rudeness, "Just a couple more days until this business relationship is over and everything goes back to normal."

Raphael grunted something unintelligible in reply. Their business relationship was nearly over indeed and as per their deal Raphael would have to let Crowley have purgatory once it was opened. That vermin ridden place wasn't what Raphael was after anyway.

 

* * *

 

 

"I know I didn't say hello to you last time, but you didn't have to summon me because of a social faux pas," Crowley stated as soon as he found himself face to face with Bobby Singer. The devil's trap was inconvenient, but not surprising. The old hunter apparently found himself a summoning spell even the king of hell couldn't ignore. It stood to reason that he would be prepared for Crowley's arrival.

"You can thank me for assuming her as a member of the extended family later," the king of hell added, nodding toward Jody.

"Now you're just trying to get shot again," Jody retorted. It was ironic that Jody's link to Bobby was what got her hurt in the first place, but it was apparently also the thing that saved her life.

"Didn't do you much good last time, did it?" Crowley shot back, raising his eyebrow at the sheriff.

"I'm pretty sure it hurt," Jody stated with a small, sardonic smile. The sheriff wasn't one to draw her gun in the line of duty unless it was absolutely necessary, but those rules didn't apply to demons or monsters.

"Demons are about as susceptible to pain as humans, just not as susceptible to death. I should know," Lucifer shrugged, before he added surprisingly sincerely, "And while we're on it, I have to admit that in hindsight creating those rotten pests was a bad move on my side."

Not that Lucifer had ever liked demons much. Of course, he was the one who created them, but they were nothing other than his ultimate proof of how rotten humanity was at its core. Creating them had been one of Lucifer's acts of rebellion. Taking something their father had created and twisting it. Keeping them around forever had never been part of the plan. The way Lucifer had seen it humanity had to go to make the Earth beautiful and perfect once more and of course the demons had to go for that too. His thoughts on the topic had changed dramatically recently.

"And who do we have here?" Crowley asked in a fake calm tone, "I hope you don't think you can take my kingdom away from me!"

It was never Crowley's ambition to acquire the title of Satan, but it was still fact that the devil and the king of hell couldn't exist at the same time. It was the same population and territory they wanted to rule over, after all. Crowley had higher ambitions, especially when it came to the territory than Lucifer ever had though.

"Puh-lease," Lucifer snorted, using one of the expressions he learned from Gracie, "Like I want it back. It's hell! Who the fuck wants hell?"

"I do!" Crowley exclaimed, losing his cool for a moment. The demon had made great changes to hell and was working to make his kingdom thrive. He wouldn't allow anyone to talk smack about it!

"Good for you," Lucifer retorted coolly. Somebody had to be on top of the food chain in hell and if Crowley wanted the job that was a-okay with Lucifer. The problems they had with the demon had preciously little to do with hell per se anyway.

"How about you try -just a suggestion here, pal- to be happy with what you have and can your plans for purgatory?" Balthazar quipped. Somebody had to start talking about the elephant in the room and that was one duty Balthazar had never shied away from, especially if the person who would most likely be upset about it was trapped in a devil's trap and less powerful than him on his own.

"Would be beneficial for your health too, Crowles," Gabriel added casually, while Castiel subtly raised his angel blade. It was part of the deal Gabriel had with Crowley that he couldn't attack or hurt the demon, but there were more than enough people in the room who could and there was nothing to keep Gabriel from making suggestions about how exactly to make the demon talk.

"It would also be a wise business decision," Michael stated, surprising everyone. As much as some in their group might be out for blood, Michael figured that it would spare them all some time to get Crowley to cooperate.

"You have my attention," Crowley replied as he focused on the former leader of heaven.

"You need humans to make deals with for souls," Michael explained. To some demons causing chaos and destruction was everything they wanted from life, but Crowley was clearly different. He was a business man and for his business to keep running he needed potential customers.

"Try making sense," Crowley demanded. The fact that the king of hell was not in the position to make demands didn't keep him from doing it. Crowley had his pride after all and he couldn't stand the feeling that he was being played for a sucker.

"Ever heard of the Leviathan? Nasty, not so little things that nearly destroyed the Earth the first time around by eating everything?" Gabriel stated before he gave Crowley a nearly condescending smile and asked, "Where do you think they went?"

"The souls of all those monsters in purgatory alone would be too much for Raphael to handle in his... her... human state, but incorporate the Leviathan with that..." Michael added to his brother's explanation. The moment Raphael lost control -a matter of minutes tops given her human state- all the creatures she had consumed would be set free.

"Awesome, do those things eat demons too at least?" Dean groaned. The oldest Winchester already got his question answered when Michael and Lucifer shared the information they had on purgatory earlier, but he thought it was something Crowley should really think carefully about.

"The Leviathan aren't exactly picky eaters. We're all equally screwed," Lucifer replied casually, "Didn't one take a bite out of one of your wings, Mikey?"

"Don't remind me of that, brother," Michael shuddered slightly. In his long existence Michael hadn't met many beings who could take him on in a fight. The pain of the bite had been nothing compared to the shock that went not only through Michael, but the entire heavenly host.

"We were lucky that father was still around to ban them to purgatory then," Michael muttered darkly. This time they only had themselves to rely on and none of them had the power to do anything much about the Leviathan once they were set free.

"You see, the problem is that I have a binding contract with your lovely sister," Crowley stated after a moment of silence, "Even though I know for sure where she will be tomorrow in time for the eclipse, it could be seen as a breach of contract on my side to tell you."

"And you totally didn't include a couple of convenient loopholes in the deal," Gabriel snorted.

"We're not all dirty, little cheaters," Crowley retorted, giving Gabriel a pointed look.

"I prefer 'relatively vertically challenged when in the company of giants'," Gabriel shot back instinctively. Crowley had absolutely no business giving Gabriel crap over his size anyway. The demon was the other short stop in the room after all. People who were living in glass houses shouldn't throw stones and all that!

"It's about time we motivate you to talk then," Dean stated with a small smirk, "Bobby still has an ax to grind with you."

"What's so hard to understand about 'I cannot talk to you'?" Crowley huffed in annoyance. He truly was surrounded by morons wherever he went! "But please, do what you will until my absence will be noticed and you are overrun by demons. The irony of Satan being ripped apart by his own creations might just be humorous enough to make up for wasting my time. Leave your sister to open Purgatory completely unsupervised!"

The king of hell threw his arms in the air showily and if he dropped a piece of paper in the process it was an accident and nothing he could be held accountable for.

Bobby gritted his teeth as he rubbed the sole of his shoe over the devil's trap until it was broken. As little as the old hunter liked it, Crowley was right. They had nothing to gain by alerting Crowley's minions and Raphael of the fact that they were hot on their heels. For now the king of hell could still be useful. He wouldn't want his own plan to succeed with the new information he had been given after all.

Crowley was gone within the blink of an eye.

  

* * *

 

 

"So we go to this address tomorrow and try to talk sense into Raphael?" Sam stated with a slightly helpless shrug, turning the piece of paper Crowley dropped over in his hands. Talking to Raphael could go either way really. It was impossible to predict which outcome was more likely, though Sam's pessimistic streak made him lean toward the odds in which Raphael completely refused to listen.

"I don't like that plan," Dean huffed. If it were for the oldest Winchester they would go in there guns blazing. Raphael was human and as long as they kept the former archangel from completing the ritual all was good. Of course the whole "let's just kill the big bad and be done with it" approach had blown up in their faces before with Lilith. Not to mention that in some strange -not to say truly fucked up- way they were dealing with a family situation here.

"It's the best we've got, other than spoiling the ritual if possible," Michael remarked with a deep frown, "Either way, there isn't much else we can do today."

If Crowley's hint was to be believed, the place where they would hold the ritual was not the same place as the place they were staying in the meantime. They could only wait until the time for the lunar eclipse came closer as things were.

Bobby groaned, but nodded his agreement to Michael's conclusion. It would never be anything other than surreal to look at the former archangel and see a young John Winchester. Not that Bobby had known the man in his mid-twenties, but it wasn't too far off. It helped a little that Michael held himself completely differently, but it was still bizarre.

"It won't be a sleepless night then at least," Jody said in a try to lighten the mood a little. There was no reason for them to stay up all night doing research and plotting when their actual plan of action would be a fairly simple one. Whether anyone would actually be able to sleep knowing what could come was still up for question however.

"Speaking of..." Lucifer mumbled as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was a little late already, but chances were Grace was wide awake and waiting for his call. Lucifer wouldn't take the chance of breaking the word of honor he had given to the little girl. If she was already asleep, he would tell Nadine to make sure Grace knew he did in fact call come morning.

Lucifer's inner musings were interrupted when a squeal that most likely should have been his name pierced his eardrums. Grace was still awake and had waited for his call then. "Shouldn't you be in bed already?"

Lucifer was a little grateful that everyone other than Michael, Gabriel and Sam had left the room in the meantime. The former devil was talking in a moderately hushed tone, but he could do without everyone listening in to his private talk. Of course, he could have left the room before he got on the phone, but the moment he realized that he nearly forgot to call Grace, he acted before considering the circumstances.

"Don't try to change the subject, Grace," Lucifer rolled his eyes dramatically, even though the little girl obviously couldn't see it, "Yes, I was supposed to call earlier, but I had to talk to the king of hell."

Sam hid his amused smile behind his palm, while Gabriel obviously tried not to laugh out loud. The younger Winchester couldn't honestly say that he had either forgiven or forgotten everything Lucifer put them through during the Apocalypse, but there was no doubt he was a changed man.

"No, you cannot meet him!" Lucifer exclaimed, completely forgetting that there were other people in the room with him for a moment before he lowered his tone again as he answered Gracie's next question. "Michael has been nice."

At the mention of his name Michael dropped all pretense of not listening to the conversation his brother was having. Michael understood - tried to understand, anyway- how strange it had to be for Lucifer to hear that Michael had started to question a lot of things, including their father's actions. However, it was just as strange for Michael to hear Lucifer admit that he had done wrong in the past and especially to hear him talk to a human he was all too obviously fond of.

"I promise," Lucifer stated sincerely. This far Michael hadn't done anything to antagonize him, quite the contrary actually. Lucifer was sure Grace would be happy to hear that. It should put some of the little girl's worries to rest. However, he had not been prepared for her next request. "What? No, absolutely not!"

“…Fine,” Lucifer tried to ignore the three pairs of eyes that were looking at him questioningly as he held his phone out for his older brother to take and announced, "Grace wants to talk to you."

Michael looked at Lucifer thoroughly baffled for a long moment, before he reached out to take the phone. The former archangel wouldn't have had to worry about what to say to the girl as she was already talking when he held the phone to his ear and didn't stop long enough to let him reply for a while. When she did, there was only one thing left to say. "I understand."

"Good night, Grace," Lucifer said with a smirk after Michael gave his phone back to him. It was high time the little girl went to bed. She had school the next day and it was by no means clear that the world would end, so she had no excuse not to attend. Not that Lucifer would allow the world to end, not while it had Grace and Nadine in it!

"I'm not allowed to be mean to you, or I will be sued... and kicked," Michael explained after Lucifer put his phone back into his pocket.

Gabriel had managed to keep a reasonably straight face that far, but there was no holding back the laughter after Michael's last statement. Gabriel vowed to make sure they visited Lucifer and his family again soon and to bring a present for the little girl. Grace had spunk and Gabriel loved how she bossed his two older brothers around.

"That's my little abomination," Lucifer stated proudly, completely ignoring Gabriel's outburst.

Michael shook his head, but had to smile as a thought crossed his mind. "I feel like I should call Hope and ask her to make a couple of threats against you."


	39. Chapter 39

**38**

 

Raphael frowned deeply as he took in the scene around him. It seemed like there was some kind of party going on. Upon closer inspection Raphael realized that there were some people in attendance he knew.

"What is this?" Raphael asked no one in particular. The former archangel's head snapped to the left fast enough to make his neck hurt when he recognized the voice that was answering him.

"No more wine for Raphie," Gabriel quipped, before he reached over to steal the glass Raphael hadn't even noticed he had been holding from his manicured hands. Gabriel offered no other explanation before he stood up and approached the Winchester brothers.

Raphael averted his gaze when Gabriel pulled Sam Winchester into a kiss. There were things the former archangel didn't have to see, even if he theoretically knew that those two were involved.

At the other side of the room Michael was laughing about something the dark-haired woman next to him was saying, while Lucifer shook his head over their antics. Raphael's two older brothers looked completely comfortable in each other's presence, but the strangeness didn't end there. A little girl came running toward Lucifer. Raphael couldn't hear what exactly Lucifer said to the little girl who was talking animatedly, but it looked like they were having a pleasant conversation. The sheer prospect of it made no sense at all. Not that anything Raphael had seen in the past minutes made any sense.

"Looks like we all needed a fresh start," Lucifer commented with a shrug suddenly looking straight at Raphael, before he turned his attention back to the little girl.

Then the former archangel felt a warm and comforting hand touch his shoulder. He turned to see who it was, but-

Raphael woke up abruptly. His heart was hammering for some reason the former archangel couldn't fathom. The images conjured up by Raphael's sleeping mind were still clear as day before his inner eye, but there was no time to waste with those foolish fantasies.

The eclipse was only a day away and Raphael still had some planning to do. Some time had passed and Castiel's idiotic ideas had surely done some damage already. Raphael had a lot of work in front of him before things could go back to how they had been.

 

* * *

 

 

"Looks like this is one of those 'might be our last night on Earth' kinda situations," Gabriel stated, waggling his eyebrows at Sam when the younger Winchester entered their bedroom.

As Jody had said there was nothing more they could do that day, so Gabriel had talked Sam into retiring to Bobby's guest room. The former archangel's insistence that too little sleep made for a very grumpy Gabriel and nobody needed one of those around come morning had been met with an exasperated shaking of Sam's head, but in the end the taller man had agreed.

Lucifer and Michael needed some time for themselves anyway. The same could be said for Jody and Bobby, as well as Dean and Castiel. It wasn't like anybody was in dire need of either Sam or Gabriel's company, but the former archangel was in dire need of some alone time with his fiancé.

"You've got the wrong brother for that kind of thing, Gabe," Sam replied dryly, even as he wrapped his arms around Gabriel's shoulders, "Thinking of death doesn't get me in the mood."

Despite himself, Sam was carefully optimistic that they would find a way to deal with Raphael that wouldn't end in death and destruction. He really had no use for any thoughts that might destroy that optimism. Not that Sam thought it was Gabriel's intention to do that. The former archangel simply had a darker sense of humor than Sam did.

"Gotcha, I mean he's a classy dude, but sexy? Nah," Gabriel shuddered exaggeratedly as he thought of Death. Then again, considering Death's age and position... he still wasn't very sexy. Sam on the other hand...

"Gabe," Sam groaned, resisting the urge to flick Gabriel's ear for the stupid joke. Instead he let go of the former archangel and sat down on his side of the bed. Somehow the men in Sam's life -namely Dean and Gabriel- never wanted to let him have the bed or side of the bed that was closer to the door. He had thought it was just a habit of his brother, but now it seemed to be becoming a trend.

"Are you saying I should go try that line on Dean?" Gabriel asked in fake outrage as he crawled onto the bed and settled on his knees behind Sam. After all Sam said that he had the wrong brother to use that kind of line on. Though Gabriel suspected that Dean was the one who used the 'end of the world' line on people and not the other way around.

"You keep digging that hole," Sam snorted, throwing a look over his shoulder and into his grinning fiancé's face.

"No hole digging, we've got a wedding to plan after tomorrow," Gabriel replied animatedly, before he planted a line of kisses from Sam's shoulder to his ear, "How's that topic for putting you in the mood?"

"Better," Sam admitted with a soft sigh.

"Thought so," Gabriel smiled against the back of Sam's neck, before he added in all seriousness, "The thought of layer cakes always makes me horny too."

"Gabe," Sam groaned, turning around so fast it made the bedsprings and Gabriel squeak in protest and surprise before tackling the former archangel to the bed and demanding, "Shut up."

Gabriel immediately opened his mouth, but his witty reply was lost as Sam crushed their mouths together. The former archangel could live with not talking for a while under the circumstances.

 

* * *

 

 

"It's weird. I mean, it's not like we usually sleep together, but I'm not sure I can sleep knowing you're not just one door down the hallway," Hope sighed, "Especially since..."

"The world won't end tomorrow Hope, we won't let it," Michael interrupted the young woman before she could voice her worries. There was no doubt what thoughts were plaguing Hope and Michael wouldn't let her worry needlessly.

"I know you mean it, but..." Hope replied in a soft tone. From what Michael had told her there simply was too much that could go wrong to be completely sure that nothing bad could possibly happen. Hope had learned that it was safer to assume the worst a long time ago. Somehow she had let go of that line of thinking for the most part since she had met Michael, but when faced with the possibility of losing him it was all too easy to resort to old thinking patterns. He not only the man who just shoved his way into her life and made her love him, but he was also the first person to really believe in her.

"There's a reason I found you and I can't believe it was just to lose you again," Michael stated with absolute conviction. That the former archangel started to question the doctrine he had lived by for ages, didn't mean that he lost faith in their father. In fact, another lesson Michael learned had been to realize that he could disagree with God and disregard some of His rules without it lessening the respect and love he felt for Him.

"Besides, I want you to meet Lucifer and tell him exactly what you would do, if he dared to be mean to me," Michael changed the topic to lighten the mood a little. The former archangel couldn't reassure his girlfriend with a hug, but he could try to take her mind away from all too unpleasant thoughts. Michael was sure that Hope would find his request humorous and the former archangel really wanted to hear what his girlfriend could come up with after he had let a little girl threaten him over the phone earlier.

"I... what?" Hope replied, before she added with a chuckle, "I'd let you handle it, 'cause you're a big boy?"

Of course, Hope would also get outraged over whatever unfair remarks Lucifer might throw at Michael, but the way Michael worded it they were dealing with a purely hypothetical scenario, so Hope allowed herself to give the reasonable, adult answer.

"I hoped you'd have some creative threats for him," Michael frowned slightly. Then again, saying that at least his girlfriend let him fight his own fights would be a pretty good comeback, if Michael ever needed one. The implications of the statement when it came to the nature of Lucifer's relationship to a little girl of all people were a sure fire way to start a big fight though. Not a good comeback after all then.

"Oh, you think I should rip his balls off and stuff them down his throat?" Hope asked completely seriously. The young woman successfully fought back her laughter until the realization that she had in fact just threatened to do all that to the actual -former- devil set in. If only she could have told her uncle about that. The pastor should approve, after all.

"That is way more graphic than what I expected," Michael admitted a little baffled, before he had to laugh as well.

"You weren't exactly specific with what you wanted," Hope pointed out once she managed to calm down enough to speak again. Lucifer being mean to Michael could mean all sorts of things and some of the worse ones would get Hope to make a threat like that, or rather they might force her to make good on the threat.

"Oh, that wasn't a complaint, I will pass it on exactly like that if the need arises," Michael retorted with a slight smirk to himself. The former archangel wouldn't have come up with a threat like that by himself, but that should be good for a couple of priceless reactions and instant wins in a dispute if he ever had to utter it.

"You do that," Hope laughed, before she took a deep breath and added seriously, "I love you."

"I love you too," Michael replied with a soft smile, before he ended the call and put his phone away.

"So you found someone," Lucifer suddenly remarked from the doorway. It wasn't like the former devil intended to listen to parts of his brother's phone call, but since Michael had heard all of his conversation with Grace earlier it only seemed fair.

"You could say I found Hope," Michael stated with a small smile, before he added, "And you have your Grace."

"Father's sense of humor," Lucifer huffed out a chuckle, "He must've had a good laugh when Gabriel fell in love with my designated vessel, too."

“I wonder if the meaning for the name Samuel was intentional,” Michael pondered. Granted, Sam was named after one of his grandfathers, but if anyone could pull off an elaborate scheme just to make sure Gabriel's future partner had a name that translated to 'God has heard' it was their father.

Of course it was strange to think of things in those terms, but Lucifer had to admit that he approved of Gabriel's relationship with the younger Winchester. Lucifer knew Gabriel and -even if Sam surely wouldn't be all too comfortable with it- he also took an interest in Sam and learned a lot about the human. They seemed like a good match and the fact that Gabriel stopped running and hiding to help the Winchesters spoke a clear message about the level of devotion involved.

"Funny how times change. Now there's only one 'yes' I want," Michael mused as he got the ring he bought for Hope out of his pocket. It was ironic how losing the position that allowed Michael to look at all of creation was what made him see the really important things in life. It seemed like a variation of the statement was true for Lucifer as well.

"I call dibs on being best man," Lucifer stated with a slightly forced smirk. It was the best way to ask where they were standing as brothers, without having to ask the actual question, available to Lucifer at the moment.

"Who else would I ask?" Michael replied without missing a beat, answering Lucifer's unspoken question. Of course, as things were Gabriel might have looked like the more obvious choice, but to Michael it wasn't. Not anymore. None of them could distance themselves from their pasts completely, but they were given a fresh start all the same. They had the chance to pick their brotherly relationship up from before everything started to go wrong all those ages ago and that made Lucifer the best man. Gabriel could always be the flower girl.

"You know that I'll rub that into Gabriel's face mercilessly," Lucifer pointed out with a grin.

"You wouldn't be Lucifer, if you didn't," Michael replied.

 

* * *

 

 

"It's not eggnog, but..." Dean announced as he put a second glass on the counter and filled it with whiskey before he slid it over to his angelic friend. The one drink the oldest Winchester knew for sure Castiel liked was eggnog, but chances were the angel wouldn't say no to everything else.

"The Winchester version of eggnog consisted of more than 50% whiskey, so it is close enough," Castiel replied in his usual stoic tone, though his small smile suggested that he meant to make a joke. Besides, the seraph understood that drinking could be a social event done among close friends. If that was what Dean was going for, Castiel appreciated the gesture.

"I'll drink to that," Dean raised his glass with a slight smirk. The oldest Winchester liked to think that being around him was caused Castiel to develop a sense of humor. If it was Gabriel's influence showing the humor would be much less subtle and if it was Sam's it would be far less amusing.

"So what're the chances we're going to get out of all this with just a black eye?" Dean asked after a couple of moments of companionable silence. Chances were the confrontation with Raphael wouldn't go smoothly, so the real question was what exactly it was going to cost them.

"There are too many unknown variables for an educated guess," Castiel answered once he pondered over the question for a few seconds. They knew nothing about the wardings Raphael might have or might still put up. They didn't know how likely it was that Raphael could change his mind last minute. It seemed likely that some demons would be stationed at the place and chances were Crowley would do nothing to keep them from ruining the ritual, but even that wasn't a given.

Dean groaned, but nodded. Of course, it would have been too much to ask for to get an answer that would let him know for sure that everything would turn out for the best. It wasn't too long ago that Dean would have said that things never worked out for the best for them, but lately that didn't seem to hold true anymore. Of course, the fact that they had gotten pretty damn lucky a couple of times recently would make it even worse, if this time marked the turnaround of their luck.

"You should attend some of my lectures on how to interact with humans, Cassy," Balthazar suddenly announced, completely ignoring the glare Dean immediately shot his way for interrupting the little moment he and Castiel were having. "Let me demonstrate."

Balthazar cleared his throat noisily and approached Dean under the wary eyes of both Castiel and Dean. If he hadn't been an angel, Balthazar would have actually feared that Dean would bite his arm off the moment he reached out to pat the oldest Winchester's head like he was a little boy.

"There there, it's not so bad. Your puny, little world won't end tomorrow," Balthazar stated in a completely fake calming tone, before he gave Dean a small smile and added, "And if it does, you're all going to heaven."

If Dean had the presence of mind to consider that punching Balthazar would most likely do nothing other than hurt Dean's fist, he still would have taken a swing at the damned angel! Unfortunately Balthazar disappeared before the oldest Winchester's fist could connect with any part of the angel's face.

"How do you stand that guy?" Dean huffed, before he picked up his glass to finish his whiskey and immediately pour himself another one.

Castiel didn't answer and only emptied his own glass before holding it out for Dean to refill. The gesture was answer enough.

 

* * *

 

 

"It's the end of the world as we know it," Jody huffed out a humorless chuckle, "For the second time this year."

"Give it a couple years and things like that won't surprise you anymore," Bobby replied with a casual shrug, even as he offered his bottle to the sheriff. Alcohol might not be a solution, but there was a reason why it was known as the 'hunter's helper' in their social circle. It sure helped ease some worries.

"I'm not sure if that's something to fear or something to look forward to," Jody laughed more heartfelt this time. It was strange to think that one day the literal end of the world would be just another Tuesday for her, but it didn't seem impossible after everything else that used to be impossible.

Their fingers touched for a long moment as Jody took the bottle from Bobby.

"At the end of the day it's worth it to be a member of this family," Bobby stated in a softer variation of his usual gruff tone. It had taken the old hunter a while to admit it, but Jody had become a member of the family. No doubt about it.

Jody hesitated for a moment before she put the bottle aside and leaned in to kiss Bobby firmly. At the end of the day, if the world ended tomorrow she wanted to go without regrets. Jody would regret never trying by far more than trying and being rejected. Not that she would have had to worry about that, if the way Bobby kissed back was any indication.


	40. Chapter 40

**39**

 

The old factory building Castiel and Balthazar transported the former archangels, the Winchesters, Bobby and Jody to looked like it had been abandoned long ago. Nature was clearly reclaiming its territory. There probably had been a road leading to the entrance at some point, but as overgrown as the whole area was it was impossible to tell where it might have been.

Despite himself, Dean was glad that they hadn't taken the Impala, even if angel air always messed with his digestion.

"Well, this is inconvenient," Balthazar suddenly commented, earning himself a couple of irritated looks from his brothers and the hunters. Maybe the seraph should have made a little clearer from the start what exactly he was talking about. However, it took him a long time to build up his public image and it was too useful to give it up.

"Afraid your shoes will get dirty?" Dean snorted as he gave the douchebag angel a pointed look. If it was up to the oldest Winchester, Balthazar wouldn't have had to come with them in the first place. Of course, having more than one angel with them on the mission was useful, but that second angel being Balthazar greatly took away from the usefulness. Castiel alone was all they needed anyway.

"Now that you mention it, the location really lacks class," Balthazar snarked back without missing a beat, "But what I was talking about..."

"Raphael has warded the building against angels," Castiel explained before Balthazar could say anything more that would take them further away from the problem at hand. They were still a good distance from the building, but Castiel could already feel the effect of the wardings. Whatever exactly Raphael had done was very powerful. Not that it came unexpected that the place would be protected, but the level of protection spoke for Raphael expecting them and that could not possibly mean anything good.

"Don't tell me you're surprised by this," Michael commented stoically. It would have been very convenient if they could have stormed the building together, but Michael never counted on it. Angels were the biggest threat to Crowley and Raphael's plans, of course they would take precautions to keep them out!

"Of course, the building's warded," Lucifer agreed with his brother's assessment of the situation, "Not that it changes anything. The plan is still to go in there and talk to Raphael."

Frankly, the ones who had to talk to Raphael were Lucifer, Michael and Gabriel. No one else had the inkling of a chance to get through to their crazy sister. In fact, Michael was the one who was likely to make an impact with words, Lucifer and Gabriel were mostly just there to show Raphael that they were getting along and that all of them could be a family again. At least, the former devil supposed that was how it was going to go ideally.

"Right, we'll try to take down the wardings once we're in," Sam concluded, nodding to himself a couple of times. Trying to enable Castiel and Balthazar to join them should definitely be a point on their list. If Raphael wouldn't listen to reason their best shot was to overpower him and once the ritual was done it was unlikely anything humanly possible would still hurt Raphael as Sam understood it.

"I don't like this," Castiel stated, frustration surprisingly clear in his tone. In fact the trench coat clad seraph loathed the prospect of standing around outside hoping and waiting any. Too much could go wrong before his brothers or the hunters got the chance to destroy the wardings. However, they had less than half an hour until the lunar eclipse, so there was no time to look for a different solution.

"Nobody likes it, Cas," Dean shrugged. Ideally, the whole operation would have been over in a minute with Castiel simply popping in there, seizing Raphael and getting her somewhere with no supplies for any world ending rituals. The other former archangels could try to talk sense into their sister all they wanted afterward. Of course, ideal circumstances like that hardly ever happened in a hunter's life, so Dean had never put his money on any of that happening. Going in there guns blazing hoping that Raphael wasn't quite as thick headed as she seemed it was then. "If you have a better plan..."

"Good luck team," Balthazar stated endless debates over the best course of action distracted them. The seraph procured enough angel blades so each of their human team members could have one. Their guns might be useful, but nothing beat a weapon that would kill basically anything they might come across. Unless of course Raphael managed to free the Leviathan in which case they were all royally screwed anyway.

"Where did you get..?" Michael asked with a deep from. The former archangel acknowledged that things had changed in heaven since his fall, but he doubted that the rules for the distribution of angel blades were this different all of a sudden. At least under Michael's rule most angel blades had been stored in the armory with only a select few allowed to carry one at any given time. They were one of the few weapons that were deadly to angels after all. Judged by Castiel's apparent surprise it seemed unlikely that their brother had authorized this either.

"In hindsight, Otheos wasn't the worst guard," Balthazar replied with a casual shrug. Of course, Balthazar could have used his status as second in command to get the blades, but where was the fun in that? Besides, Castiel would have definitely heard of it beforehand then and thus take away Balthazar's chance to shine.

"I understand his urge to punch you better now," Michael huffed out a chuckle as he tested the weight of the blade in his hand. It felt strange to brandish a weapon that had always made a connection with his grace the moment he touched it. It felt a bit wrong without anything there it could connect to. At the same time it was an all too familiar weight in his hand.

"Such potential for violence in this family," Balthazar clicked his tongue disapprovingly before he nodded toward the building and added, "Go use it productively!"

 

* * *

 

 

"What are the chances Crowley told the guards to let us pass?" Jody whispered as they stepped through the suspiciously unlocked door. They had some sort of understanding with the king of hell, so maybe the demon would assist them in some way. Usually, Jody wouldn't have been naive enough to even hope for something like that, but it was the best explanation for why they had gotten as far as they had without encountering any resistance.

"The best we can hope for is that he only put demons he doesn't like on guard duty," Dean commented with a snort. The oldest Winchester had to admit that the absence of any guards so far was suspicious, but maybe they relied a little too much on their wardings and only guarded the room Raphael was in. Of course, there was always the possibility that they were walking into a trap, but they had no other choice than to walk into the building or to let the world end.

"Everything else would look too suspicious anyway," Michael added after a moment of silence, "Raphael is not stupid."

Michael was by no means sure if Crowley would want to help them any further than he already had, but even if he did there was no use doing it conspicuously. If Raphael noticed that something was up, she would have enough time to adapt her own plan accordingly and that couldn't bode well for any of them.

"Now that's a point we could argue about," Lucifer commented. Raphael clearly was stupid for ever thinking that working with Crowley and trying to open Purgatory was anything other than a horrible idea. Then again,... "Raph really knows what he's doing though."

"So much for simply breaking the wardings," Sam muttered, looking at the intricate design of sigils all over the walls and ceiling. The younger Winchester didn't know enough about Enochian symbols to know for sure what the single symbols stood for, but it was obvious that the same wardings were repeating themselves every couple of feet down the hallway. It looked like they would have to break every single group of sigils if they wanted to make it possible for Castiel and Balthazar to join them.

"So much for letting us pass," Jody stated just a moment later. A bunch of demons just appeared in the hallway behind them. It didn't look like the demons were too concerned with letting them get further into the building, but as big as the place was they probably figured they would have more than enough time to catch them further in. That or there were more demons waiting around the corner.

"Son of a..." Dean muttered as he tightened his grip on his angel blade. There weren't so many demons that they couldn't fight them off realistically, but it would take time. Time they didn't have. Apparently, his younger brother came to the same conclusion.

"Go, go!" Sam yelled at the three former archangels. Sam, Dean, Bobby and Jody could hold the demons back while Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer tried to stop Raphael.

"Sam!" Gabriel exclaimed, reaching for the hunter's arm. The former archangel saw the logic in his fiancé's plan, but everything in him protested against the idea of just leaving Sam and the others behind. Maybe Michael and Lucifer could go without Gabriel. Chances were Raphael was the maddest at him right now anyway.

"See you later," Sam squeezed Gabriel's hand as he gave the former archangel a quick smile. Each one of them had a mission to accomplish and once they were done, they would meet up again. There was no room for considering any other option in Sam's mind.

Gabriel nodded tightly before he turned around and followed Michael and Lucifer down the hallway. The one good thing about the multiple of circles of wardings was that they very effectively marked the way to the room Raphael had to be.

"Oh hey look, it's Britney and Christina," Dean commented when the first two demons stepped forward, "Looks like Crowley really stationed the useless demons around here."

Upon closer inspection, Dean noticed that calling the two demons Britney and Christina had been much too flattering, not that a demon's look necessarily said anything about its power levels. They had learned that lesson with Meg. All the demons they had met so far were easy to anger though and got careless when that happened.

Sam sidestepped the blade of the demon his brother dubbed Britney before he stabbed her. One down, about twenty more to go, if Sam's estimation was right.

The oldest Winchester pulled his own blade free from Christina's body and threw a quick glance toward his brother before he gave the other demons a smirk and asked, "Whose next?"

Behind Sam and Dean, Bobby and Jody held their shotguns ready. The two Winchesters had their blades ready, so the old hunter and the sheriff chose to use their other weapons to slow the charging demons down. That way Sam and Dean should be able to pick them off one by one. All in all their chances didn't look too bad, but the real battle was to be fought elsewhere.

 

* * *

 

 

The three former archangels had to cross one empty room and follow another hallway before they reached what looked like an abandoned laboratory. Raphael was standing close to the far wall. There were a lot of symbols drawn in blood and Raphael's right hand was glistening crimson.

"Quit the crap, Raphael," Lucifer stated once they were close enough to make eye contact with their sister, "You're making me look like the reasonable one."

A quick look through the high window revealed that the lunar eclipse was only just getting started. It wasn't exactly clear what would happen if Raphael finished the ritual before the moon disappeared completely, but it was better not to take the chance. Especially since Raphael had a gun pointed at them.

"You were off to a bad start, but we can help you," Michael said in a soothing tone that was in stark contrast to Lucifer's mocking one. Given the time, they could find something Raphael would truly enjoy and make sure she settled into her new life just as comfortably as Michael, Lucifer and Gabriel had.

"I will not abandon heaven!" Raphael exclaimed. Everything was prepared, all Raphael had to do was to connect his hand to the wall and the door to Purgatory would open.

"Heaven is not abandoned!" Michael replied reasonably as he thought, "Castiel is..."

"Castiel is just a lowly seraph. It's not his position to have!" Raphael sneered. The moon was nearly completely gone. Raphael didn't intend to shoot any of his brothers -not even Gabriel- but he would if they tried to stop him. He was too close to give up now.

"There is a reason..." Michael tried to reason with their sister once more. If Raphael could only see that they were all given the chance for a new start, maybe she could let go of her former status. Apparently, Raphael didn't have the trust in their father that Michael had, but in the end she only had to believe that her brothers would stand by her.

"He's the reason!" Raphael yelled, glaring at Gabriel. In the end, it was Gabriel's fault that Raphael's grace had been ripped from him and that he had to endure all the indignities of the past weeks. Gabriel was to blame for the entire situation and it was his fault that Raphael was driven to drastic and desperate measures.

"You know, Raph, when something works out for the best for everyone but you, you might try to consider that you're the one on the wrong path," Gabriel quipped before he could stop himself. He stood behind his words, but it probably wasn't the best to tell Raphael at the moment.

"Where have I heard that before?" Lucifer snorted. Though in hindsight he had to admit that he had been on the wrong path until recently. It was only good that Michael agreed that he had been on the wrong path as well. Lucifer might have a new understanding for his wrongdoings, but that didn't mean he was willing to take the blame for everything that ever went wrong. He was right when he said humans had a great capacity for evil, he had just been blind to the fact that they had a great capacity for good as well. In fact, all of the archangels had been until the most unlikely brothers somehow made Gabriel change is mind.

Lucifer shook his head to get rid of those thoughts before he added, "But seriously, you have to know this is a stupid idea. Not too long ago I'd have jumped on the 'let's kill all humans' bandwagon with you, but freeing the Leviathan..."

"I will not free them, I'll use them and then let Crowley deal with them!" Raphael replied aggressively. After all Raphael agreed to open Purgatory for Crowley and let the king of hell have the territory. Crowley could have the Leviathan as well as soon as Raphael was back in heaven and reinstated as an archangel. Their grace had to be somewhere...

"Like that's going to work you idiot!" Gabriel exclaimed. Nobody -other than their father and quite possibly Death- could handle the kind of power Raphael was about to absorb. To think that she could control it was madness and nothing else.

"Just watch me," Raphael stated coolly. The time for idle talking was over. The eclipse had started and the longer they spoke the more likely it was that one of Raphael's brothers would decide to resort to violence.

Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer simultaneously sprinted forward as Raphael extended her arm toward the wall, but her bloody hand connected with the symbols before any of them got close enough to stop her.


	41. Chapter 41

**40**

 

In a way, it was like Raphael had suddenly turned into a vacuum cleaner sucking all the souls out of Purgatory and into herself. Gabriel supposed he could have come up with a darker and more dramatic comparison to truly match the gravity of the situation, but he couldn't bring himself to care for semantics when the whole world was about to go up in flames.

Lucifer knew that it was unlikely to make a difference, but he didn't want to go out without having tried everything in his limited possibilities. The former devil's blade went straight into Raphael's stomach, but the hole in Raphael's blouse was the most damage it did. For a moment Lucifer wasn't sure if Raphael even noticed what he had done. As unimpressed as she looked, she might have simply ignored a minor inconvenience like being stabbed through the stomach. However, the casual wave of Raphael's hand that sent Lucifer crashing into Michael hard proved that theory wrong.

"Why again didn't we just shoot him?" Lucifer groaned, trying to get off Michael enough to allow his brother to breathe easier. Lucifer might not be overly heavy, but the force with which he had been thrown was best described as excessive. The former devil couldn't be sure, but it felt like he would have a bruised ribcage to show for it come morning. If they were still alive then.

"At least it's not me standing on the wrong side this time," Lucifer huffed out a humorless chuckle as he finally managed to roll off Michael. The former devil took solace in the fact that he gave Samandriel clear instructions to simply grab Grace and Nadine and get them to (relative) safety -which translated to Heaven in this case- if it looked like their mission failed. Maybe Lucifer would even be able to meet them there. It wasn't like he had done anything worthy of another eternity in hell since he had fallen. His soul should have been basically untainted.

"For all it's worth Lucifer," Michael wheezed as he fought to get enough air into his lungs, "I'm grateful for that too."

Of course, it would have been preferable, if all four of them were standing on the same side, but apparently that option was not in the cards. Apparently, Gabriel was not ready to accept that simple fact, though.

"Raphael, please, this is your last chance!" Gabriel pleaded. The former archangel cast his angel blade aside as a sign that he only wanted to appeal to Raphael's good senses. Not that the blade would have done anything to Raphael anyway, as Lucifer's attempt had proved impressively. "Let it go, we can still..."

As long as the eclipse was not completely over Raphael could still give up on the souls and send them back to Purgatory. It looked like their sister was still in control this far, though her body was already starting to show signs of deterioration. They were running out of time, but it was not too late yet.

"I will not let it go. This is the first time in weeks I've felt normal," Raphael replied in a victorious tone, before her eyes met Gabriel's and her voice became ice cold, "All thanks to you."

It had been bad enough to realize that Raphael was just another human all of a sudden and then to learn that Gabriel had been responsible for it all. Not that Raphael expected anything better from his younger brother. Gabriel had abandoned heaven and joined the wrong side in the Apocalypse. To hear Michael say that their human state was something Raphael was supposed to simply accept had been a real slap to the face. After all Michael and Raphael had worked together to keep heaven up and running for so very long. Michal of all people should have been on Raphael's side! Lucifer and Gabriel were the ones who stood against heaven from the start and now Michael had abandoned it as well. The last straw however had been to see that while Raphael had to go through all kinds of indignities, even Lucifer the demon maker himself, had settled into his human life comfortably.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out for you," Gabriel apologized in a grave tone, "But I made the right choice."

"Did you now?" Raphael spat, raising his hand to crush Gabriel before he made the conscious decision to do so. Raphael frowned deeply for a moment and lowered his arm again. The time to dish out punishment would come, but not yet. There was no rush, despite what a large and growing part of Raphael was trying to tell him.

"I did it out of love!" Gabriel exclaimed, meeting his brother's eyes once more. It was obvious that Raphael was already struggling for control. How long she would be able to keep up the fight was anyone's guess.

"Your misguided feelings for Lucifer's..." Raphael retorted in a condescending tone. For an angel to fall in love with a human was bad enough, but to fall for the designated vessel of one of your brothers -Lucifer no less- was unforgivable. No matter what Gabriel said, it hadn't led to anything good either. There was a reason things like that were frowned upon to say the least.

"No, you idiot! I did it because I love you! All three of you!" Gabriel yelled. "I wanted the Apocalypse to end without any of you being dead!"

Of course, saving Sam had been Gabriel's top priority, but he had made the conscious decision to go for the way that would save the younger Winchester from ever becoming Lucifer's vessel and allow all the archangels to live. Gabriel went out of his way to make preparations not only for himself, but for all his brothers, so they could have comfortable lives without having to worry about things like food or housing. Even if all of them might have hated Gabriel for what he did forever, he was willing to take that over having to see any of them dead, or having to kill them himself.

Raphael balled his fists, his eyes nearly glowing as he glared at Gabriel. Of course, Gabriel would try to put a spin on the whole affair that would make him look like a hero! Raphael wouldn't fall for it! Gabriel was not the one who was in the right here!

A wave of Raphael's hand sent Gabriel crashing into the closest wall before he made the conscious decision to do so. Not that it mattered, because Raphael very much wanted to do exactly that and a lot of other things to his brother anyway.

"You can throw me around all you want, it's still true!" Gabriel exclaimed as he struggled to get back to his feet. Not that he should have bothered seeing as how Raphael simply sent him flying again, this time toward the door they entered the room through what seemed like hours ago. The eclipse was in its finishing stages, but the door to Purgatory was still open. It seemed unlikely that Raphael would change her mind, but maybe there was still something...

"Stop it! Raphael, enough!" Michael yelled when Raphael raised her arm again. Gabriel could probably take a third or even a fourth hit, but the more Raphael used her new powers the more she lost control over all the souls inside of her. It was easy to see that it was hardly Raphael who called the shots anymore. Black veins had started to show along the side of her face and neck nearly immediately after Raphael absorbed the souls, but they were becoming increasingly prominent as she used her powers.

Raphael was about to say something when the Winchesters, Bobby and Jody came running through the door. Dean and Bobby immediately tried to secure the door against the demons that were still following them. If Crowley was only keeping up appearance with the guards he stationed in the building, he was doing a damn good job with making it look nothing but genuine!

Sam immediately knelt down next to Gabriel. The former archangel looked a little worse for the wear, but luckily it didn't seem like any real damage had been done.

The hunters didn't need more than a moment to determine that things between the former archangels hadn't gone the way they all wished they would. The thought of simply opening the door and at least dragging all those demons right in with them once Raphael exploded crossed Dean's mind, but before the oldest Winchester could say or do anything Crowley appeared.

"It seems, love, you opened Purgatory for me and I let you absorb all the power you wanted. I think our contract has been fulfilled," Crowley commented casually, giving Raphael a nice smile for good measure. The king of hell had gladly left it to the jeans clad nightmares -which incidentally applied to all hunters and former archangels present- to keep Raphael occupied until the lunar eclipse was nearly at its end. There was no use acting until the contractual bonds Crowley had to Raphael were technically resolved.

Raphael looked like she was going to burst at the seams any moment and each new arriving person seemed to make it worse. It probably didn't help that Raphael had a beef with all of them and very much wanted to eradicate them. That moment her focus was completely at Crowley though. The king of hell was responsible for quite a few of the indignities Raphael had to go through after all, starting with forcing her to make a contract with a damn demon to begin with.

"Juliet!" Crowley called in a commanding tone before the hatred in Raphael's eyes could translate into a more aggressive action against the king of hell.

Raphael had no time to react before a huge hellhound barreled into him, sending him stumbling backward. The hellhound ultimately was no match for Raphael's new powers, but Crowley never counted on Juliet killing the former archangel.

"Five, four, three..." the king of hell started to count down seemingly casual, though the way his jaw clenched showed that he was anxious.

A low growl filled the room just before Raphael was thrown back enough to stumble through the door to Purgatory. A moment later the portal closed and the growling stopped.

"Good girl," Crowley stated fondly with a little melancholic smile. He would have to find another hellhound suitable to be his personal guard and lap dog. It was still better than the alternative though.

With a wave of Crowley's hand the demons stopped trying to break through the door as well and silence fell over the room. There was no reason to keep up appearances anymore. Not that the demons knew they had only been used to make Raphael believe that Crowley was still on her side. As far as his underlings were concerned they had to keep the Winchesters busy until Crowley arrived to take care of them himself.

"Don't you dare think of opening that door again!" Bobby stated in a gruff tone. The old hunter didn't like the way Crowley was looking at that wall. Hell, Bobby himself had owned dogs he was very fond of before, but he stood by his opinion that once something or someone was in heaven, hell or purgatory they should stay there. With very few exceptions.

"Excuse me? Grateful much?" Crowley retorted in a scandalized tone, "I just saved this bloody world!"

That Crowley was a demon and thus per definition an enemy of basically everyone present -most of the time, anyway- didn't excuse such rudeness! Granted, if Crowley hadn't given Raphael the -in hindsight- ill advised plan to work with none of this would have happened, but that didn't change the fact that Crowley had only just sacrificed his beloved pet to save the world.

"What he's saying is, don't try to get your guard dog back," Dean snorted. The thought of Crowley and Balthazar going to a bar together popped into the oldest Winchester's mind. Somehow those two seemed like they would be a match made in heaven and hell. Dean for one didn't even want to be in the same state, if they ever decided to hang out.

"I am sure Juliet will have her fun in Purgatory alongside your lovely sister," Crowley shrugged, "I trust we can agree that they both stay where they are."

Everyone in the room could in fact agree to that, though some liked it better than others.

 

* * *

 

 

Both Lucifer and Michael were eager to get back to their families and as far as Gabriel knew, Dean convinced Castiel to celebrate their newest averted end of the world with him. According to the oldest Winchester they had some things to discuss concerning Castiel's imminent joining of team Impala.

In all honesty, Gabriel had been too distracted by his own thoughts to say for sure, but he wouldn't be surprised if Jody would be eating breakfast with them in the morning. The former archangel hadn't seen her leave anyway.

Sam had dragged Gabriel off to bed shortly after midnight. The former archangel appreciated his partner's effort to wrap him up in love and comfort, but sleep kept evading him. It took some time before Gabriel could free himself from Sam's embrace and make his way downstairs. There was something Gabriel wanted to do. Why not get it over with while he was already restless?

Bobby's study was only illuminated by the light coming from the fireplace. It took Gabriel a while to get a good fire going, but it wasn't like he didn't have the time. Once Gabriel was satisfied with the fire he picked up the folder he had put on the coffee table earlier.

As with Michael, Gabriel didn't have enough information about the vessel Raphael was in when she fell to make up detailed papers -a passport, driver's license and the like- but he created a couple of different birth certificates and bank accounts. Documents nobody was going to use as things were.

Gabriel swallowed hard and closed his eyes for a moment before he tossed the folder into the flames. Three out of four wasn't bad, but the former archangel always aimed for one hundred percent in this case. Somehow Gabriel believed everything could turn out for the best until the very last moment. If only Raphael had listened...

"I just wanted..." Gabriel mumbled, before he forced a smile on his face and turned his face to look at Sam, "Doesn't matter now."

"You had the best intentions, sometimes that's all that matters," Sam replied, as he wrapped his arms around Gabriel's shoulders.

The former archangel sighed deeply before he leaned back against the younger Winchester's chest. Well intended and well done where two completely different things, but Sam was right. When there was no way to know what the outcome would be, good intentions were what mattered.

Sam and Gabriel stood together watching the flames in silence for a long time. There would be nicer things to do come morning, but there had to be closure first.


	42. Chapter 42

**41**

 

Lucifer hadn't expected anyone to welcome him home the moment he entered the door. After all he never let them know when exactly he would be back. Besides it was late and Grace had a fixed bedtime when a school day was coming up.

What Lucifer didn't expect either was the familiar, giddy feeling of being home that hit him the moment he stepped through the front door and took his shoes off. The former archangel allowed himself to bask in the feeling for a few long moments. This was the place where he belonged, just like Grace kept telling him.

Nadine was watching the late night news when Lucifer walked through the door. The fact that Lucifer was back at all spoke for a good end to the whole story with Raphael. Good on a global scale at least. Lucifer didn't look like he was about to say that the world was going to end any day now.

"You were right," the former archangel stated after a couple of moments of companionable silence.

"I know," Nadine replied with a small smirk, before she added, "But... what exactly did I say?"

Lucifer snorted instinctively. After all the time he spent acting like Nadine was somehow inferior and her words held no meaning to him, he thought he deserved a reaction like that. The truth was that Lucifer tended to both listen and think about the things Nadine said to him much more than he let on. Ever since she stopped looking at Lucifer like he was nothing more than the devil, the former archangel had to admit the woman had grown on him.

"I am lucky to have brothers like Samandriel, Gabriel and Michael," Lucifer clarified. In fact, Castiel and Balthazar weren't half bad when it came to the way they treated Lucifer these days either, but Lucifer's list of favorite brothers had three people on it as things were.

"They're lucky to have a brother like you too," Nadine replied with a small smile. Considering his difficult past, Lucifer was trying very hard to be the best he could be and succeeded quite often too. Being a good person was hard enough, but turning your life around was insanely difficult for anyone and Lucifer had been the literal devil after all.

"I'll go and let Grace know that I'm back," Lucifer suddenly announced. Things were getting a little too touchy-feely for his taste, though a part of him really appreciated Nadine's words. He would have to reflect on the matter later, when the time was right. "I know it's past bedtime..."

"Yeah, you do that. She'd be really disappointed if you didn't," Nadine agreed immediately. Besides, Gracie would sleep better knowing that Lucifer was back. Waking her up for a minute to achieve that was definitely worth it.

Lucifer nodded with a small smile and padded upstairs. As always, the door to Gracie's room was left slightly ajar to allow a little light from the hallway to get into her room. Lucifer hesitated for a moment before he sat at the edge of the little girl's bed and reached out to pat her head.

"Lucy?" Gracie asked sleepily, blinking a couple of times against the dim light to allow her eyes to focus. The moment the little girl was completely sure that it was in fact her angel sitting next to her she tossed the blanket off within the blink of an eye and threw herself at Lucifer to hug him tight. "Yay!"

Lucifer hugged back for a few long moments, before he whispered against Grace's hair, "Thank you."

There was something he wanted to tell Grace, even though it was unlikely the little girl would understand the full scope of his words. Facing Raphael made Lucifer realize how easily it could have been him against his brothers once again. It wasn't like Lucifer had readily accepted his new humanity or had strived to be a better man from the first moment on. He had needed a lot of help to get to where he was and he was only grateful for how things turned out.

"What for?" Gracie asked clearly puzzled.

"Making me human," Lucifer replied with a smile before he pried Grace off him and went through the motions of putting her back into bed. One day he would tell Gabriel the same.

 

* * *

 

 

Michael should have known that Balthazar wouldn't be stupid enough to drop him off anywhere close to the front door when it was a given that Otheos would be guarding the house. To tell the truth, Michael had been too occupied with other thoughts to think of that particular issue beforehand.

In a way it suited Michael just right to have a couple of moments as he walked toward the house to decide how he wanted to go about everything from here. He needed to have some time just between him and Hope before he could face everyone else. There would be a lot of half-truths when it came to what he would tell her family about his absence, but Michael wanted to have an honest talk with Hope first.

The former archangel sneaked around the house, collecting a few pebbles as he went. The fact that Hope would most likely get a kick out of what he was planning was a nice bonus really. The light was on in Hope's room and two pebbles against her window later the young woman looked outside. Michael didn't have to say anything before Hope opened the window and climbed down to meet him.

"Does this mean everything went well?" Hope asked after she threw her arms around Michael's neck and gave him a lingering kiss. Surely Michael wouldn't choose this way to tell her about the oncoming end of the world!

"We saved the world, but Raphael didn't want to be saved," Michael replied with a small, melancholic smile. The former archangel held his girlfriend tight for a few long moments as he collected himself.

"I'm sorry," Hope sighed, cupping Michael's face in her hands before she gave him a chaste kiss. The loss of a family member was never easy and Hope knew how much Michael had wanted to help Raphael. It was nearly impossible to help someone who didn't want to be helped, but that didn't make it any easier to accept.

"Free will is one of father's greatest inventions, but it makes it possible to choose being the biggest idiot you can be," Michael huffed out a deep breath. In the end, Raphael had chosen her own path just like Michael, Lucifer and Gabriel chose theirs.

"So, you want to climb in through the window and act like you were there the whole time over breakfast, or do we use the door?" Hope asked with a small grin. The thought of Michael simply walking downstairs for breakfast like any other day and proclaiming he had no idea what everyone was talking about, he had been there the entire time, was funny, but knowing Michael it was unlikely he would go for that

"I think the door will do," Michael replied, shaking his head with a fond smile. Hope's idea for causing some mild confusion had its merits, but it didn't go too well with what Michael actually planned to do. Thinking of which... "Wait a second."

Before Hope could say anything, Michael dropped to his knees. Hope was still speechless when he pulled a ring box from his pocket and opened it.

"Hope, will you..?" Michael started his question, before he frowned slightly and started anew, "This is the right moment correct? I mean, I'm not getting ahead of myself again?"

"Are you seriously asking me about the proper order of things now?" Hope retorted disbelievingly, before she groaned and answered, "I guess you could go and ask my dad or my uncle for my hand in marriage first."

Michael's frown deepened for a moment. Of course, he had heard of the custom of asking a relative for someone's hand in marriage before, but he had assumed that Hope of all people wouldn't like that. After all it would be asking somebody else about something that only concerned the two of them and their happiness. If it was for Michael nobody had the right to deny them that if they both wanted it and he thought Hope would agree. Apparently, he had been right.

"Or you could pop the damn question before I do it myself," Hope threatened, trying to sound completely serious about it. Of course, she would gladly wait for Michael to be ready to propose, but from the looks of it he wasn't going to get any more ready. There was a ring sitting in his hands after all.

"Will you marry me?" Michael asked, even as the corners of his mouth twitched traitorously. The former archangel never feared too much that Hope would rebuff him, but her words made absolutely clear that he had nothing to fear in that regard.

"I might have to sleep on it," Hope replied in fake seriousness before she flung herself at Michael and exclaimed, "Yes, yes, hell yes!"

Michael forewent pointing out that hell would have absolutely nothing to do with it in favor of slipping the ring on Hope's finger.

 

* * *

 

 

Adam had a glass of milk, some of Tarot's homemade cookies, his anatomy textbooks and the certainty that the end of the world was not upon them. At least not immediately which was probably the best he could hope for with the life he lived. As far as the youngest Winchester was concerned that was all he needed that moment.

It was a few minutes later that Adam realized that he really needed peace and quiet as well, but it was his idea to study in the kitchen instead of his own room, so he couldn't complain about Chuck being there rummaging around too much. What were the chances that the prophet would be there for long anyway? As soon as Chuck found what he was looking for he would be gone again.

"You okay, Chuck?" Adam finally asked, looking up from his textbooks when the prophet was still rummaging through the cupboards about a minute later.

"Yes, sure, why wouldn't I be?" Chuck snapped, making sure that nobody would believe his words in one sentence. The prophet kept opening cupboards and closing them again, hardly looking at their contents.

"You're... jittery," Adam stated, trying to be careful about his choice of words. Chuck was obviously worked up over something and there was no need to start a fight on top of everything. "Too much or too little coffee?"

"I... I had a vision," Chuck replied with a deep sigh, rubbing his temples for good measure.

"Now? I mean, I thought you didn't..?" Adam asked, clearly taken aback by this revelation, " Why now? Everything's over and done with."

Maybe Chuck was meant to write another book about recent events, but it would be strange for the whole thing coming to him in one vision and after everything was dealt with. Sam clearly said that Raphael and all the monsters were back in Purgatory. Unless of course there was something new coming up already. Still, something about the whole thing didn't sit right with Adam.

"Uh... I... I didn't, but... Do you still have that bottle somewhere?" Chuck suddenly asked, throwing his arms in the air as he gave up on finding it himself.

"Sure, just let me..." Adam replied as he walked up to the kitchen counter. Instead of grabbing the one bottle of whiskey Adam in fact still kept around for emergencies, the youngest Winchester reached for one of their biggest kitchen knives. Adam had Chuck pinned against the wall, the knife to the prophet's neck before the prophet could even squeak. "Who are you and what did you do to Chuck?"

Something was simply wrong about Chuck and Adam didn't believe for a second that it was all about a vision. Sure, Chuck tended to show his nervousness and he had the tendency to drown his problems in alcohol -though he had gotten that under control remarkably well lately- but his whole behavior had been a little too extreme for a lack of better word. It was more like someone giving an impression of what they thought Chuck was like.

"Adam, what's gotten into you?" Chuck squeaked, struggling weakly against the hold the youngest Winchester had on him.

"That's what I'm asking you," Adam retorted in an icy tone, "You're not Chuck."

The whole scenario was all too familiar and not in a good way. Adam had encountered monsters who could take on the looks of people before and it didn't end well for him or his loved ones. The very thought that something horrible might have happened to Chuck already gave Adam the creeps.

"Of course I am!" Chuck protested strongly, which only furthered Adam's belief that he was not in fact Chuck.

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that," Adam stated, before he called loudly, "Terry, I need your help down here!"

As much as Adam wished there was a way to keep Tarot out of this, the angel was the only one who would know immediately what was wrong with Chuck. If the prophet was possessed by some demon or if he wasn't Chuck at all Tarot would see it for sure. Adam's angelic friend could probably get rid of whatever it was too, but they would cross that bridge when they got to it.

Tarot hurried to follow his friend's call. Adam sounded worried which immediately made Tarot nervous, but if his friend needed him he would be there. The angel came to an abrupt stop once he reached the doorway just staring at the scene in front of him wide-eyed.

"Terry, what..?" Adam asked, tightening his grip on the knife before he dared to throw a side glance at his friend. Tarot was clearly overwhelmed, but the look on the angel's face wasn't one of horror. Tarot was clearly nervous, but other than that he seemed to be... in awe.

"F... father," Tarot whispered barely loud enough for Adam to hear.

Adam didn't resist when Chuck -who apparently was God- raised his hand to push the knife Adam was still holding away from his throat. The youngest Winchester tried to look apologetic as he dropped the weapon. It seemed like bad style to threaten God, not to mention that it was completely useless.

"I'm glad to see you're doing better," God told Tarot with a smile, "And tell Gabriel to have a little faith."

"Very funny, why don't you..?" Adam snorted, but Chuck collapsed into his arms before he could finish the statement. Apparently, God had left the building. There were so many questions about what just happened going through Adam's head, but it was unlikely he would ever get them answered. The first time they met -and wasn't it freaky to think that Adam had most likely met God before without recognizing Him- He dropped by to tell Adam about Gabriel's plan to sacrifice himself. Not that it prevented anything from happening really. This time He only wanted to leave a rather cryptic message for Gabriel. God didn't make a whole lot of sense to Adam.

Tarot needed a few more moments to collect himself before he managed to help Adam with their unconscious friend. Together they brought Chuck to the living room to let him rest on the couch. However, the prophet opened his eyes just as they were about to put him down.

"Adam, what..?" Chuck asked clearly confused. The last thing the prophet knew was that he wanted to go to his room and watch some late night entertainment. Apparently, that wasn't what happened.

"Apparently... you're God sometimes," Adam replied with a shrug. There was no really good way to start a conversation like that, so the youngest Winchester might as well just drop the bomb. "And God is either a horrible over-actor, or quite the alcoholic."


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

**42**

Tarot felt a little guilty when he said that it was too stressful for him to attend Michael's wedding and he would have to decline the invitation. He felt a little better when Adam admitted that he was glad about any excuse not to go himself, but Tarot still wanted to send the pair a wedding gift. The angel could only hope that they would like the partner watches he was putting together for them. Since Tarot was short on a few supplies to finish his project they had to make a run to the arts and crafts store.

Adam realized that something was out of the ordinary the moment Tarot gave the young woman looking through the different markers on display more than a passing glance. Before the youngest Winchester could ask what was up with that, the woman looked back at Tarot and then smiled at both of them.

"Do I know you?" Adam asked with a deep frown. The youngest Winchester had the strong feeling that he had seen her face somewhere before and from the way the woman was smiling at them Adam got the impression that she knew them for sure. Apparently Tarot had the answer to Adam's question.

"B-belle," Tarot mumbled, as he gave the woman a shy smile and small wave. A disguise, even the very elaborate ones they used at Disney World, didn't keep an angel from seeing the person behind it. Tarot recognized the actress who had helped them find Cogsworth immediately and apparently she had recognized them too.

"How did you..?" the woman asked astonished, "Sorry, it's just not every day that someone actually knows it's me."

It wasn't like she had too much in common with the character she played looks-wise. The wig and make up usually fooled pretty much everyone who didn't know her. Still, the guy who had seen her exactly once while he was close to a nervous breakdown no less, immediately recognized her.

"Seriously?" Adam asked, shaking his head with a grin, "Wow... Belle is secretly a redhead, who'd have thought?"

"I know, right? Sadly they already had an Arielle," the woman replied with a shrug. She would have had to wear the wig to play Arielle anyway. That particular princess didn't exactly have a pixie cut after all.

"We like Belle better anyway, right Terry?" Adam commented, turning just to see his friend had apparently abandoned him in favor of looking through the arts and crafts supplies on the shelves. Even though Tarot didn't generally hang on to Adam as much as he used to, this was still new. "Don't take it personally, his heart belongs to Cogsworth."

"It's okay, I..." the woman took a short break to consider her next words carefully, "One of my uncles served in Afghanistan. I think I get it."

Of course, she had only seen Terry once, but a lot of the behavior he displayed was eerily familiar. Terry looked a little young to have served in the military, but you never knew. Besides, there were a lot of things outside of active military duty that could give someone PTSD or something related.

"Huh," Adam replied as eloquently as he could bring himself to be that moment.

"I hope I didn't..." the woman was ready to apologize for making a too quick assumption immediately.

"No, no, it's just..." Adam quickly assured her, "We don't meet many people who... get it."

Luckily Tarot was mostly unaffected by the strange looks people gave them pretty much wherever they went. Adam didn't know -and quite likely didn't want to know- what most of them thought was going on with his friend, but understanding wasn't what the youngest Winchester read from most of their faces. Even their neighbors, who were generally nice and civil people, only thought of Tarot as strange without bothering to question further.

"Know what, if you two ever visit the park again, give me a call and I'll make sure I know where Cogsworth is hanging out," the woman suddenly offered, before she uncapped one of the markers she had picked out earlier and wrote her phone number on the back of Adam's hand. If he didn't want to take the -innocent and noncommittal- offer, he could always just wash the color off and be done with it.

"Thanks," Adam stated clearly taken aback, especially when she turned around and walked toward the registers just a second later, "Hey, I still don't know... I mean... Hi, I'm Adam and I don't want to put you in my phone as Belle."

"Alice," the woman told Adam with a wink, "Yeah, I know, sadly that part was taken too."

Adam huffed out a laugh even as Alice disappeared around the corner. He might just take her up on that offer. Tarot had enjoyed going to Disney World the first time around after all.

"She's n-nice," the angel commented, suddenly back by Adam's side.

"Right. Then why didn't you stay to, you know, talk to her?" Adam asked with a raised eyebrow. The way Tarot had suddenly turned to the shelves didn't speak for the seraph being comfortable in the woman's presence. At least, it wasn't the way he usually acted around people he didn't consider intimidating.

Tarot shrugged and held up the little brushes and cleaning agent he had picked out while Adam talked to Alice. They came to the store to buy those things, so Tarot had gone to find them while his friend was busy. Maybe the angel also wanted to give Adam the chance to have a conversation without Tarot standing next to him and making things awkward.

"You're a lousy liar," Adam chuckled. The youngest Winchester was quite sure there was something more behind his friend's behavior and he would get to the bottom of it eventually, but as things were he had a nice, pretty girl's number on the back of his hand, so he really had no reason to complain.

"Belle's p-p-prince is c-called Adam," Tarot pointed out with a small teasing smile. Adam's baffled expression was funny enough to get the angel to laugh in public for the first time.

* * *

"This isn't fair, Castiel!" Balthazar whined, as he walked up to the church with his favorite trench coat clad brother. Of course, the seraph would deny it if anyone accused him of whining. The whole situation Balthazar found himself in was undignified enough as it was!

"You received an invitation and you accepted, just like everyone else," Castiel pointed out in a perfectly neutral tone. However, the way Castiel's lips twitched now and then gave away that he found the whole affair to be quite amusing. It also helped that the angel was sure Dean would find Balthazar's -self-inflicted- predicament humorous as well.

"You know full well that I had to accept!" Balthazar exclaimed indignantly. The invitation the seraph received included a handwritten note by Michael and Hope stating how disappointed they would have been if he declined their invitation to their wedding. Apparently, those two had become a little too chummy with Otheos over the months. Thinking of the guard, how was it fair that Balthazar would get a punch to the face, even if he was -more or less- ordered to appear too close to him?

"Otheos shouldn't have the right to..." Balthazar started what would have become a heated rant against the injustice of the situation, if he hadn't been rudely interrupted.

"Hello brother," Otheos greeted Balthazar with a too wide smile. The guard had grown quite fond of Michael and Hope and had been looking forward to their wedding day for that reason alone, but to know that Balthazar would finally get close enough for him to get a good punch in had been the cherry on top of the cake.

"Wonderful!" Balthazar groaned, even as a he threw a side-glance toward his best friend and commander. Castiel might have changed his mind in the meantime and remembered that it was his duty as Balthazar's pal to keep him from harm. Apparently, no such miracle had happened. "Fine! Just get it over with!"

"I have the right to punch you on sight Balthazar, not the obligation," Otheos pointed out seriously, but with a small smirk still on his face.

"I was so sure I'd get punched today," Balthazar huffed when the guard turned around to walk back into the church. They were only minutes from starting the ceremony, maybe Balthazar had been saved by the oncoming church bells so to say.

"And you will, but when I choose to do so!" Otheos called back over his shoulder. It was tempting to hit Balthazar there and then, but that was what the jerk expected. To be honest, Otheos might have done it anyway, but Hope had pulled him aside to explain the horrible torture of anticipation the previous day. Michael's chosen one could be devious like that and Otheos was learning to value it.

"That's bollocks and you know it!" Balthazar shouted incredulously, before he turned toward -a suspiciously chipper looking- Castiel. "Cassy, tell him that's not how it works!"

"I am afraid it would send mixed signals to give Otheos an order like that while we are trying to spread the notion of how important free will is among our brothers and sisters," Castiel replied apologetically as he patted his brother's shoulder. Besides, a lot of people would be disappointed if Castiel prevented the punch from happening. Maybe he would have a talk with Otheos about the conditions of his contract afterward.

* * *

The ceremony went by without a hitch. Everyone who was supposed to say yes did so at the appropriate times and nobody had any objections. To minimize the chances of getting anything wrong, Michael and Hope had chosen not to write their own vows. As fast as they had moved everything along they wouldn't have had the time to try out their talent as writers anyway. They both agreed that looking for a house and making all arrangements to keep their engagement time as short as possible was more important. They could still renew their vows a couple of years down the line and get creative then.

Lucifer looked around the banquet hall that had been rented for the festivities after the ceremony in the church was over. There were -naturally- a lot of humans in attendance and the former devil would lie if he said he didn't automatically feel antipathy toward most of them. There were a couple of people Lucifer already knew and liked around though and he found he could give the others the benefit of the doubt, even if it took some effort.

Another thing that took some effort as Lucifer found out was being the best man at a wedding. Luckily Michael and Hope insisted on keeping things as uncomplicated as possible, but Lucifer was still left with a few small tasks to fulfill, the last of which he was about to tackle.

"I never had to give a speech quite like this before, so I enlisted the help of a professional speechwriter," Lucifer announced, before he took a short break to pull Gracie from her seat next to him and made her stand on her chair instead so everyone could see the girl, "All complaints about anything I'm about to say are to be directed toward her or her lawyer."

Nadine shook her head with a fond smile. She hadn't heard the final version of the speech Lucifer and Gracie came up with, but she doubted there would be anything inappropriate in it. At a different occasion she wouldn't have been so sure and God only knew what Lucifer might still say when the time to really mingle with the other people present came, but Nadine wasn't worried about the contents of the speech.

"Michael, I'm glad we managed to put all our differences behind us just in time for me to be a part of this special occasion. It's my honor to welcome Hope to the family and to wish you both the very best for your shared future," Lucifer stated solemnly, before he shrugged and added, "I wanted to say more, but it was bedtime, so..."

"Congratulations!" Gracie exclaimed, grinning at Lucifer when people started to laugh. The little girl was content with a job well done and would gladly accept some cake as payment -in addition to the brand new yellow dress she had gotten- later.

* * *

"You know muffin, that could've been us if you had hurried up a little..." Gabriel sighed dramatically as he watched Michael feed some cake to Hope and getting some cake smeared all over his face in return just a second later.

"Me? You insisted that we had to postpone our wedding the moment Michael and Hope sent out invitations!" Sam retorted with a snort. Honestly, the younger Winchester never expected their engagement to last longer than a week or two, but things had come up every time they had the time to discuss wedding plans, so they were still stuck at the engagement phase.

"Because I don't want to steal the spotlight from them!" Gabriel claimed, before he added more heatedly, "And I sure as hell won't let them steal ours!"

Of course, Sam and Gabriel had agreed on a quick and small wedding, but that didn't mean that the former archangel would be okay with it being overshadowed by other events.

"Uh-huh, so to sum it up, it's your fault," Sam pointed out with a small grin.

"Know what, even if it's not our wedding we can call it a learning experience," Gabriel suddenly directed the topic into a different direction that suited him much better, "And I really think we have some serious practicing for the wedding night to do."

Sam nearly choked on the sip of his water he had unwisely taken just before his fiancé made his -not too subtle and not too silent- announcement. It didn't help any that Gabriel was waggling his eyebrows madly at the younger Winchester. Gabriel had a point though. Not that Sam was comfortable with thinking about that too much while they were among a bunch of people and wearing dress pants that wouldn't exactly conceal any evidence of either one of them getting too much into the fantasy.

"Cas!" Dean yelled like he could read his younger brother's mind, "Let's hit the bar!"

It was bad enough that the oldest Winchester had been suckered into attending the wedding and wearing a monkey suit to boot while Adam somehow got around the entire thing, he wasn't going to sit next to Sam and Gabriel while they talked about their future bedroom activities!

Luckily Castiel was all too willing to accompany Dean to the bar and listen to the oldest Winchester complain about younger brothers and stupid ties. The fact that it wasn't long before Dean ran out of things to find fault with, let Castiel know that his friend wasn't too serious about these things to begin with.

"So, your father didn't want to take Chuck out for another spin?" Dean sorted, after he took a good look around the room. Most of the people present wouldn't know it, but there were quite a few non-humans among them.

"Apparently," Castiel nodded thoughtfully, "But after recent developments I would not be too sure that He is not in attendance somehow."

"Know what, Cas? That wouldn't be the weirdest thing to ever happen to this family at this point," Dean laughed, before he took another swig of his whiskey. The oldest Winchester still wasn't quite sure how high exactly the whole 'Chuck is sometimes a temporary vessel for God personally' thing ranked on the list, but it sure was one of those things nobody expected. At least Dean -unlike Adam- could say that he never threatened God with a knife, though to be honest the oldest Winchester was a little jealous of his youngest brother because of that fact.

Dean was pulled out of his thoughts by the sudden appearance of Balthazar. Somehow the stupid bastard always had to invade whatever little time Dean and Castiel got just between the two of them. Hopefully that would change when Castiel got around to actually hunting with them. It was only a matter of days.

Balthazar gave Castiel a winning smile. He hadn't been too worried about getting hit during the ceremony. Otheos surely wouldn't want to disturb the proceedings. Keeping close to someone from Hope's family ever since had done the rest. Balthazar had a few phone numbers from some single relatives and friends of the bride and hadn't been punched even once. Now that the cake had been cut the angel was ready to call it a day and make his exit.

"It has been a truly magnificent day, but I'm afraid I must..." Balthazar stated, before he was interrupted by a fist to the side of his face.

"Truly therapeutic," Otheos sighed contently. What a beautiful day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please consider leaving a review, if you enjoyed the chapter/story!


	44. Chapter 44

**Epilogue**

"Tell me again how this turned into such a huge affair," Gabriel huffed out a chuckle as he walked into the bakery next to his fiancé.

They both were carrying various bags full of things they needed for their wedding that was only two days away. It wasn't exactly a surprise that Dean wanted nothing to do with the wedding preparations, besides making sure he would be Sam's best man and planning the stag night of course. Luckily the pastor Bobby recommended to them knew a lot about local hauntings in addition to giving Sam and Gabriel pointers for their wedding, so Dean and Castiel were ridding Massachusetts of all ghosts while their brothers got their shopping done.

"My brothers, a couple of your brothers, Bobby, Chuck, Garth, everyone plus one or two," Sam replied with a slight shrug.

As weddings went, they were still speaking about a relatively small group of people. However, it wasn't so long ago that Sam believed the hunter lifestyle was bound to be a lonely one. Sure, he always had Dean and Bobby, but that had been about it. Until Gabriel decided to become a part of Sam's life. Their social circle wasn't huge, but it was much bigger than it had been for a long time and most of all it was rock solid.

"So in summation we're loved and popular," Gabriel grinned. The fact that circumstances had forced them to postpone the wedding a couple more times and prolong their engagement to around a year and a half had added a couple more people to their guest list as well. A couple of new connections had been made and somehow Gabriel felt the need to invite them all to the wedding. So maybe he quite liked the fact that there were a bunch of people they were close enough to for issuing an invitation like that, sue him.

"Yeah, actually... yeah," Sam agreed with a dimpled smile.

"Gives us a good excuse to buy a huge wedding cake at least," Gabriel stated gleefully, as he put the bags he was carrying down in favor of grabbing the folder next to the decoy wedding cake the bakery put up for demonstration. The former archangel guessed the folder would hold some information on the kinds of cakes they offered. It would be good to have a general idea before they talked to the pastry chef. Besides it looked like they managed to visit the bakery at a really busy time of the day. There were quite a few people waiting for their chance to buy some of the delicious looking and sweet smelling pastries. "I'm thinking five tiers, five different flavors. What d'you think?"

Sam couldn't help laughing at that. Not that the younger Winchester ever assumed that Gabriel would allow them to get anything other than a huge cake. Chances were they would still be eating cake days after the wedding. Or rather, Dean and Gabriel would, Sam was quite sure that he would have enough of cake after sampling different flavors today and then eating some at the wedding.

"Can one of those be carrot cake?" the younger Winchester asked innocently. With five tiers there should be space for one slightly healthier alternative to the overly sweet buttercream stuff Gabriel preferred.

"Muffin, I love and adore you, but that's a deal breaker," Gabriel retorted in a scandalized tone, before he amended, "We can have pie on the side for Dean, though. There's fruit in that."

Sam snorted. Like they were ever going to get away without having pie on the menu! Dean already announced that he would bring his own, if they were mean and insolent enough not to think of the needs of all their guests.

"Hey, if you were serious, we can have carrot cake muffins on the side too, how about that?" Gabriel added after a moment of consideration. The former archangel assumed that his partner was only making a joke, but with Sam you never knew. He might actually want some carrot cake. In which case he would of course get what he wanted! It was their big day after all!

"The pastry chef is going to love you," Sam laughed, even as he shook his head over Gabriel's antics.

"Too bad I'm already taken," Gabriel quipped, before he grabbed Sam's neck and pulled him into a short kiss. They were here to choose a cake, not to get sidetracked. There would be time for all that later. After they made sure that the wedding would go as planned, they could practice some more for the wedding night and honeymoon.

The grin on Gabriel's face told Sam everything he needed to know about the turn his partner's thoughts had just taken. The younger Winchester shook his head with a snort once more before he started to leaf through the folder of potential cakes and flavors.

"Will you be able to choose only five flavors?" Sam asked after turning a couple of pages and finding out that there were more than thirty options to choose from. The younger Winchester could already see their cake gaining a couple more tiers. Surprisingly enough, Gabriel didn't comment. "Gabe?"

"Huh?" Gabriel replied, clearly distracted by the baby who was looking at him over her -if the pink bow was anything to go by- mother's shoulder. The former archangel had realized that the baby was watching him a minute ago and decided to first wave at the kid and when that earned him even more attention from the baby girl, pull faces for her amusement.

"The flavors for the cake," Sam repeated with a slight smirk. Sometimes the younger Winchester couldn't help wondering when Gabriel would start talking about adopting a kid of their own or something alike, but they would cross that bridge when they came to it. Sam was pretty sure that they would come to it eventually, given Gabriel's love for children.

"Okay, okay, one can be carrot," the former archangel gave a long suffering sigh that lost all effect in combination with the funny face he pulled to get the baby to laugh again.

"Thanks," Sam shrugged. He was willing to take his victories where he could get them, especially if they came as easy as that. The younger Winchester felt silly, but he gave the baby a small wave as thanks for distracting Gabriel enough to shorten the carrot cake discussion. Actually, the girl was just too precious with her dark eyes and toothless grin. If she took after her mother -or who Sam assumed was her mother- she would have quite the majestic afro one day as well, instead of the little tuft of black hair.

Gabriel was in the middle of pulling the most spectacular duck face of the century when the woman turned around to see what her daughter was laughing at.

"Your daughter is precious," Gabriel chuckled awkwardly, while next to him Sam tried not to laugh at his fiancé's predicament. At least catching the attention of the baby's mother gave the former archangel the chance to get closer to the kid without feeling like a creeper. Gabriel kept some distance to be polite until the baby made grabbing motions toward him and he extended his arm toward her to let her shake his hand, or rather his finger.

"Thank you," the mother replied with a bright smile, before she added a little thoughtfully, "Usually she doesn't like strangers this much."

"Oh, I love kids, she probably has a sixth sense for that or something," Gabriel shrugged lightly. Sometimes the former archangel wondered if children -and some animals- could still sense something angelic about him. Their generally positive reactions to him hadn't diminished after he gave up his grace, but then maybe it was just the general vibe he gave off angel or not.

"Smart girl!" Gabriel praised the baby, carefully patting her head with his free hand.

"That you are, right Raphy?" the woman laughed. It was a moment before she noticed that the man whose finger her daughter was still holding captive and the taller man next to him were looking at her with wide eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"No... no, actually..." Gabriel managed to stammer, before a wide smile spread over his face, "That's a beautiful name, 's all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!


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